Allopurinol hypersensitivity reactions: desensitization strategies and new therapeutic alternative molecules

Inflamm Allergy Drug Targets. 2013 Feb;12(1):19-28. doi: 10.2174/1871528111312010004.

Abstract

Allopurinol, an analog of hypoxanthine has been worldwide used for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout for over 40 years. Unfortunately some patients assuming this medication have developed hypersensitivity reactions ranging from mild cutaneous eruption to more severe clinical manifestations such as allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome or Steven-Johnson syndrome and lethal toxic epidermal necrolysis. Various strategies of slow desensitization have been elaborated to reintroduce allopurinol in a part of these patients, mainly patients affected by mild skin reactions as fixed drug eruption or exanthema. However, several new uricosuric therapies have been recently introduced. Actually drugs as recombinant urate oxidase and febuxostat are under post-marketing surveillance to control potential adverse effects related to their immunogenicity even.

MeSH terms

  • Allopurinol / adverse effects*
  • Allopurinol / therapeutic use
  • Animals
  • Desensitization, Immunologic / methods*
  • Drug Hypersensitivity / etiology
  • Drug Hypersensitivity / therapy*
  • Febuxostat
  • Gout / drug therapy*
  • Humans
  • Hyperuricemia / drug therapy*
  • Product Surveillance, Postmarketing
  • Recombinant Proteins / therapeutic use
  • Skin / drug effects*
  • Skin / pathology
  • Thiazoles / therapeutic use
  • Urate Oxidase / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Thiazoles
  • Febuxostat
  • Allopurinol
  • Urate Oxidase