Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0033774 (pruritus)
 14,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Lichen planus pigmentosus (LPP) has thus far been described as a condition of unknown etiology which clinically differs from the classical lichen planus (LP) by exhibiting dark brown macules and/or papules mostly in exposed areas and flexural folds and a longer clinical course without pruritus or scalp, nail or mucosal involvement. Histopathologically, LPP shows the typical changes seen in LP, but with thinning of epidermis. We report a case of LPP that developed in a unilateral, zosteriform pattern on the left flank of a 49-year-old man. This case seems to lie in the middle of the spectrum between classical LP and ashy dermatosis, and, to the best of our knowledge, is the first report of LPP presenting in the zosteriform pattern.
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PMID:Lichen planus pigmentosus presenting in zosteriform pattern. 911 19

Concern is being raised about the economic impact of the non-blinding strain of onchocerciasis, since half of those affected with onchocerciasis in Africa live in the forest zones where the non-blinding form is prevalent. WHO's TDR programme has embarked on multi-country studies on the social and economic effects of onchocercal skin disease (OSD). Baseline data from one site, the Ibarapa Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria, is presented here. Farmers were screened for signs and symptoms of onchocerciasis including palpable nodules, reactive skin lesions and self-reported severe itching. Those having two or more of these conditions were classified as having severe OSD. A matching group of farmers without any of the signs or symptoms formed a control group. Women in the area either did not farm or held only one small plot. Land size comparisons were undertaken with 51 pairs of male farmers matched for age and location within 23 small hamlets bordering the Ogun River. Farmers with OSD had significantly less farmland under cultivation (9117 m2) than those with no OSD (13850 m2). The farmers with OSD did not appear to have alternative income strategies to compensate and, consequently, they had a lower value of personal wealth indicators (e.g. iron sheet roofing, motorcycle) than those without OSD. One can conclude that although the effect of forest strain onchocerciasis is less dramatic than of the blinding from, the disease poses an important economic threat in the region.
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PMID:Farm land size and onchocerciasis status of peasant farmers in south-western Nigeria. 917 41

Nodular prurigo (NP) is a chronic skin disease causing severe itch of unknown origin in restricted skin areas surrounded by healthy skin areas. In the present investigation we studied cutaneous sensibility in five NP-patients and in five control subjects. Pain thresholds were determined with short argon laser pulses using two different sizes of stimulus surface (diameters 2 and 4 mm), tactile threshold with calibrated monofilaments and skin blood flow with a laser Doppler flowmeter. We also studied the effect of prolonged capsaicin treatment which should predominantly impair the function of nociceptive C-fibers. In both the itching and healthy skin areas the pain thresholds were lower in NP-patients than in healthy control subjects. Before capsaicin, an increase in stimulus area produced an equal decrease in pain threshold in all subjects. Following prolonged capsaicin treatment the pain threshold obtained with a large but not a small stimulus surface was elevated to control levels in NP-patients. Tactile thresholds in NP-patients were lower than in control subjects, and this abnormality was reversed by capsaicin. The basal skin blood flow level was more labile (fluctuating) in itching skin areas than in healthy skin areas of NP-patients. Capsaicin reduced blood flow fluctuation in the itching area. A lowered pain threshold not only in the itching area but also in the healthy skin area of NP-patients suggests that central convergence of itch and pain may contribute to increased pain sensitivity in chronic itch. Capsaicin-reversible abnormal fluctuation of the blood flow in the itching skin area might be explained by abnormal spontaneous activity of nociceptive peripheral nerve fibers and a consequent release of vasoactive agents from their terminals (axon reflex). The decreased tactile threshold and the elevation of it by capsaicin indicates that also the mechanisms underlying tactile sensibility are changed in chronic itch patients.
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PMID:Altered skin sensitivity in chronic itch: role of peripheral and central mechanisms. 921 42

Eosinophils are believed to play an important part in the pathogenesis of equine diseases such as helminth infestation and the allergic skin disease, sweet itch. It has been shown that adherence of human eosinophils to the connective tissue matrix protein fibronectin enhances cell activation and survival time. If adherence causes similar changes in the properties of equine eosinophils, cell-induced tissue damage at a site of parasitic infestation or allergic response would be exacerbated. However, investigation of this hypothesis requires identification of mediators that cause equine eosinophil adherence. Since the equivalent recombinant equine proteins were not available, the present study reports the effects of recombinant human (rh) C5a and IL-5 on the adherence of equine peripheral blood eosinophils (EPBEs) to fibronectin in vitro. The effects of LTB4 and PAF on EPBE adherence to fibronectin were also examined and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was used as a positive control. PMA caused a dose-related increase in EPBE adherence to fibronectin-coated plastic. In comparison, rh C5a produced a much smaller response which was only evident at the highest dose tested. On the other hand, rhIL-5 induced a small, but significant dose-related increase in EPBE adherence. Moreover, this response was in part dependent on the beta 1 integrin Very Late Antigen-4 (VLA4). Since adherence to serum-coated plastic was also increased by IL-5, beta 2 integrins may be activated and/or up-regulated on EPBEs by the cytokine. Neither LTB4 nor PAF caused EPBE adherence to fibronectin but prior incubation with these mediators increased the response of cells to IL-5. There were no differences between the responses of EPBEs isolated from horses with clinical signs of sweet itch and normal animals. Thus, whilst up-regulation of IL-5-induced adherence may occur locally in tissues in vivo, it does not appear to take place in the circulation. Finally, C5a, PAF and LTB4, but not IL-5, caused equine neutrophil adherence to fibronectin demonstrating the different responses of granulocytes to these mediators. The results obtained in the present study have shown that mediators which may be released at sites of inflammatory or allergic reactions can induce or enhance eosinophil adherence to tissue matrix protein. Thus, these mediators can now be used in future studies to determine if cell adherence may alter eosinophil activation or survival time.
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PMID:Agonist-induced adherence of equine eosinophils to fibronectin. 922 26

Lichen sclerosus, formerly called lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, is a chronic skin disease manifesting itself mostly in the perineal region and often associated with itching. Characteristic elements are well-defined depigmentation and degeneration of the skin sometimes showing haemorrhagic bullae or teleangiectases. The skin grows thinner and shrinks. Malignant degeneration is rare. The prevalence is 1:300 to 1:1000. The condition occurs more often in females than in males and more often in adults than in children. Drug treatment (symptomatic) comprises local application of corticosteroids, anaesthetics and/or sex hormones. In case of insufficient response, cryotherapy is a good alternative. Chemical and surgical neurotomy are also sometimes applied, with fairly poor results. In refractory symptoms, excision of the affected skin, possibly with transplantation using a pedicled skin flap, may lead to mitigation.
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PMID:[Plastic surgery as a last resort in lichen sclerosus]. 954 59

A four-year-old, male neutered domestic shorthaired cat was presented with a two-week history of nasal and ocular discharge, generalised exfoliative dermatitis, intense pruritus, polydipsia, polyphagia, weight loss, intermittent hindlimb ataxia and lethargy. Cutaneous populations of Malassezia pachydermatis yeast organisms were found to be elevated. The generalised nature of the disease prompted survey radiography which revealed the presence of a cranial mediastinal mass which was subsequently resected and found to be a thymoma. Within six months of surgery, systemic and cutaneous signs had resolved and yeast counts had returned to normal, suggesting a causal relationship between the thymoma and the skin disease.
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PMID:Resolution of exfoliative dermatitis and Malassezia pachydermatis overgrowth in a cat after surgical thymoma resection. 935 5

An eighty-two year old patient had scabies and transient acantholytic dermatosis (TAD, Grover's disease) at the same time. Persistent itching papules after lindane therapy finally led us to the microscopic diagnosis of TAD. Different trigger mechanisms can apparently induce the typical acantholysis. In addition to solar radiation, tumors and tumor therapy-dependent conditions, cutaneous infections have been implicated reports (Demodex folliculorum, Malassezia furfur) as causes of TAD. This may be the first report about a relationship between TAD and mite infection with Sarcoptes scabiei.
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PMID:[Transitory acantholytic dermatosis (Grover's disease) in sarcoptic scabies infection]. 1035 27

Thirty patients without obvious skin disease but with subjective skin symptoms related to work with visual display units (VDUs) and 32 healthy persons were single-blind-tested with a solution of 5% lactic acid and pure water on their cheeks. Thirteen of the patients and 6 control persons reacted positively as "stingers" (p < 0.05) in this objective test of sensitive skin. The reason why some patients react with subjective symptoms like itching, burning, stinging, prickling or tingling is unclear. The result of this study, that patients with VDU-related skin symptoms have sensitive skin, does not tell anything about the aetiology of the symptoms. Former studies speak against the role of electric and magnetic fields and indicate that "techno-stress", cognitive factors or flickering from the VDUs or fluorescent tubes could be of importance, as could the Swedish mass media debate.
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PMID:Patients with visual display unit-related facial symptoms are stingers. 949 26

Having observed altered itch and flare reactions after histamine application in patients with atopic eczema, we tried to determine these reactions in patients with urticaria and psoriasis. We investigated 16 healthy non-atopic subjects, 16 atopics in an eczema-free interval, 16 with acute atopic eczema, 16 with urticaria and 16 with psoriasis. Histamine was iontophoretically applied. The resulting sensations were rated on a visual analogue scale. Flare areas were measured 6 min after stimulation. Itch ratings of urticaria and psoriasis patients did not differ significantly from controls, whereas both atopic groups, regardless of acute or symptom-free state, reported significantly reduced intensity of itching. Flares were significantly diminished in all subjects with acute skin disease (psoriasis, urticaria and atopic eczema), regardless of diagnosis. However, flares were "normal" in symptom-free atopics and were not significantly different from controls. In conclusion, all "acute" patients showed a diminished axon-reflex function, possibly due to a downregulation of C-fiber responsiveness to histamine or an increased turnover rate of inflammatory mediators. Both atopic groups reported weaker itching, suggesting altered central nervous processing of itch.
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PMID:Histamine and cutaneous nociception: histamine-induced responses in patients with atopic eczema, psoriasis and urticaria. 953 90

A total of 149 elderly men and women with pruritic skin problems were selected for study at the dermatological clinic in the Department of Medicine, Rajavithi General Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, from 26 November 1996 to 10 January 1997. There were 62 men (41.6%) and 87 women (58.4%). The average age was seventy years. Among these elderly patients, pruritic skin disease was the most common problem, found in about 41%. Xerosis (senile pruritus) was the most common problem at 38.9%. Other pruritic skin diseases found were inflammatory eczema (22.8%), lichen simplex chronicus (12.1%), skin infections (11.4%), psoriasis vulgaris (6.7%), urticaria (4.7%), drug rash (2%), insect bite (0.7%), and anogenital pruritus (0.7%). Xerosis usually occurred with increased bathing frequency and use of strong soaps and detergents. The causes of inflammatory eczema were seborrheic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, dyshidrosis, and stasis dermatitis. Statistical analysis of xerosis and inflammatory eczema by gender showed no difference, but there was more inflammatory eczema among females.
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PMID:Pruritic skin diseases in the elderly. 957 76


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