[The development of recent strategies in the treatment of urticaria as a result of clinically oriented research].

New therapeutic approaches in urticaria are presented with special respect to chronic and physical types including symptomatic dermographism, cholinergic urticaria, pressure and solar urticaria as well as vibratory angioedema. Clinical efficacies of several antihistamines (clemastine, astemizole, terfenadine, acrivastine, hydroxyzine, cimetidine), of ketotifen as a H1 receptor antagonist and mast cell stabilizer, of tricyclic antidepressant doxepin with H1 and H2 antagonist properties, of the calcium channel antagonist nifedipine, of topical corticosteroids and of the attenuated androgen danazol are presented. The data are specified by a detailed description of the design and particular conditions of the underlying study protocols.