Understanding Angioedema in Urticaria, with Jonathan Bernstein, MD

Angioedema is a complication that has a significant burden on patients with inflammatory skin conditions such as urticaria. While research is ongoing in the field to better treat angioedema, unmet needs in its management remain.

Jonathan Bernstein, MD, adjunct professor, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine and current president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) is giving a talk on emerging treatment approaches for angioedema in patients with urticaria at the 2025 AAAAI/World Allergy Organization Joint Congress, February 28-March 3, in San Diego, California.

“I think that's really the biggest thing that's confronting us, is to get clinicians understand the spectrum of angioedema and to make sure that they aren't skipping steps and going from inexpensive antihistamines to extremely expensive drugs that are targeted towards hereditary angioedema,” Bernstein told HCPLive in an interview.

HCPLive spoke with Bernstein to learn more about unmet needs in patients with angioedema and urticaria, including making appropriate decisions and implementing physician education to improve this. He also discussed progress in research in the space, and current research adding to the field’s understanding of the disease, including mast cells mechanisms.

“We're learning more about mast cell biology and activation, which is really important in terms of drug development. So, we'll see how everything plays out in terms of, you know, looking at these more difficult to treat patients with chronic urticaria, and how these drugs work, but I think that we're going to see a significant benefit for patients who don't respond well to antihistamines or omalizumab in responding to some of these other alternative, mechanistic, mechanistically driven therapies,” Bernstein said.

REFERENCE

Bernstein J. Emerging Treatment Approaches to Hives, Itch, and Angioedema. Presented at: 2025 AAAAI/WAO Joint Congress, February 28-March 3.