Indian Journal of Skin Allergy: Journey of past 1 year

Several patients with chronic skin allergy diseases consult dermatologists for their treatment. Some patients with chronic skin allergies are difficult to treat. Clinicians look for the opinions/views of experts for the management of such diseases. “Indian Journal of Skin Allergy” was conceptualized with an idea of providing a platform for dermatologists and other clinicians to publish their experiences, clinical research, views, interesting case reports, and reviews related to cutaneous allergies.

It has been slightly more than a year since the first issue of the journal was published. It gives me a great pleasure to write about the past year’s journey of “Indian Journal of Skin Allergy” in this Editorial. Although, the thought of starting a dedicated journal for publishing articles related to cutaneous allergy was old, it took a few years to bring that into reality. The journal was introduced past year, that is, in 2022. The first issue of the journal (January–June) launched in January 2022 included 11 articles. In the inaugural issue of the journal itself, we could attract many authors to publish their articles in this focused journal on skin allergy related topics. Interestingly, for this issue, we received mixed categories of articles, which any journal would wish to publish. We received a review article, original articles , a case report , a letter to editor, and a book review. We are very pleased to publish three original articles in this issue. The diversity and number of articles that we received in a short period of time than expected suggest that clinicians and researchers were looking forward for a dedicated Indian Journal for Skin Allergy.

“Skin Allergy Research Society” conducts annual meetings for dissemination of the scientific knowledge from experts. The introduction of a journal provided a new opportunity for spreading the knowledge and learning at the annual meeting. In the inaugural issue of the journal, we provided an update and summary of the eighth annual meeting of Skin Allergy Research Society. This summary was presented in the form of a conference report.

Readers are interested in understanding disease s cenarios in their country of residence as well as views from the experts from different parts of the world. Specialty journals helps to cater these needs of the readers. In the first issue of the journal, we received one article authored by an international expert in chronic urticaria. In the article on chronic inducible urticaria, Can et al. beautifully explained an overview of the disease in the form of clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management. This article is written by experts from Turkey and Russia. Can et al. from the Department of Dermatology, Bahcesehir University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey, and Emek Kocaturk from Koc University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey, in collaboration with Daria Fomina, Center of Allergy and Immunology, Clinical State Hospital, Moscow provided their expert views on chronic inducible urticaria by reviewing the literature.^[1] The article has provided a brief summary of different types of chronic inducible urticaria (e.g., symptomatic dermographism, cholinergic urticaria, cold urticaria, delayed pressure urticaria, solar urticaria, heat urticaria, aquagenic urticaria, vibratory urticaria, and contact urticaria) in the form of presentation and diagnosis. In the last section, the authors have summarized the treatment of chronic inducible urticaria. Avoidance of the known physical trigger needs to be explained to the patients. However, it may not always be known to the patient or feasible. Drug treatment plays an important role in controlling symptoms of patients with chronic inducible urticaria. The treatment approach for chronic inducible urticaria is similar to patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria. Similar to chronic spontaneous urticaria, second generation H1 antihistamines remain the first line of treatment for chronic inducible urticaria. Moreover, up-dosing of second-generation antihistamine is considered as second line treatment similar to chronic spontaneous urticaria. Omalizumab has become an attractive option for the treatment of chronic urticaria. It can be considered for those patients not responding to second generation H1 antihistamines. At present, omalizumab is not approved for the treatment of chronic inducible urticaria. The authors stress the need of tailor-made approach for the patients based on the type of chronic inducible urticaria.^[1]

In the second issue of the journal also, we received diversified articles in terms of their types. Review article, original articles, case series, case reports, and letter to editorial were published in this issue too. This issue also had contributions from the global experts in chronic urticaria. Gotua et al. from Georgia along with Rosana Camara Agondi (Brazil) and Ivan CherrezOjeda, Universidad Espiritu Santo, Samborondon, Ecuador provided an overview on urticaria and comorbidities.^[2] The authors have explained two types of endotypes of chronic spontaneous urticaria, that is, autoallergic and autoimmune urticaria along with its differences in the form of mechanism, biomarkers, and clinical indicators. Different comorbidities including infectious diseases, atopic conditions, metabolic syndrome, and emotional stress have been explained in the article. The authors have also listed the drugs that could trigger chronic urticaria.

Overall, the 1^st-year journey of the “Indian Journal of Skin Allergy” was satisfying in terms of number of articles, nature of articles, and contribution from authors from India and abroad. As we enter the 2^nd year of the journal, we are happy to receive similar encouraging response in the form of diversity of articles and geography of authors. The third issue of the journal is being published along with this Editorial. I expect similar or even better response in terms of number of quality articles from authors from India as well as other countries. The journal will continue to provide updates in the field of skin allergy.