Activity of ebastine (10 and 20 mg) and cetirizine at 24 hours of a steady state treatment in the skin of healthy volunteers.

We have compared the inhibitory effects of ebastine (10 mg), ebastine (20 mg) and cetirizine (10 mg) on histamine-induced wheal and flare skin reactions 24 h following a 6-day-long treatment. This was a double-blind, randomised, crossover, placebo-controlled study involving 24 healthy volunteers (18-65 years) with negative skin prick tests and the absence of specific IgEs to common allergens. Subjects were randomised to receive each of the following treatments once daily for 6 days: ebastine (10 mg), ebastine (20 mg), cetirizine (10 mg) or placebo with a washout period of 5 days. Twenty-four hours after the last dose of each treatment, histamine skin prick tests were performed (0, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 mg/mL), and wheal and flare responses were measured. All active treatments produced significant inhibition of the wheal responses compared to placebo (P < 0.001). Wheal response inhibition was significantly better with 20 mg of ebastine compared with 10 mg of ebastine and 10 mg of cetirizine. In a comparison to histamine concentrations required to produce a wheal surface area of 10 mm2, 20 mg of ebastine was also significantly better than ebastine 10 mg and cetirizine (P < 0.001), and 10 mg ebastine was significantly better than cetirizine (P < 0.05). Highly significant (P < 0.001) effects on the flare response were observed with each active treatment compared to placebo, with no difference between groups. The frequency of adverse events, primarily somnolence, was similar among the four treatment groups. Our results clearly indicate that ebastine, at either recommended dosage of 10 and 20 mg, and cetirizine produced significant inhibition of the histamine-induced wheal and flare reaction compared to placebo for up to 24 h. A superior efficacy of 20 mg of ebastine is observed compared with 10 mg of ebastine and 10 mg of cetirizine on the skin wheal response 24 h after the last dose of a 6-day-long treatment. This study clearly proves ebastine to be an effective, truly once-daily antihistamine.