The treatment of glucocorticosteroid-dependent chronic urticaria with stanozolol.

In this study, four patients presented with chronic urticaria that required glucocorticosteroid therapy for control. In the first patient, the urticaria began during pregnancy and persisted after delivery with symptoms flaring premenstrually thereafter. Danazol was selected in an attempt to suppress progesterone levels, theoretically by inhibiting ovulation. The patient's urticaria markedly improved, however, within 24 hours. Several months later, she was switched to stanozolol with further improvement. Three other individuals were treated with stanozolol with dramatic improvement. In all, three patients have experienced the induction of five remissions (there were two recurrences), and one patient remains much improved. All subjects have stopped both stanozolol and glucocorticosteroids. Stanozolol appears to act synergistically with glucocorticosteroids, and together, they may be capable of inducing remission in some patients.