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)

Anthralin cream 0.5% to 1.0% was used to treat 68 patients with severe alopecia areata. Therapy was relatively well tolerated, although all patients experienced pruritus and local erythema and scaling. Cosmetic response was seen in 17 (25%) of the patients, and was maintained during therapy in 12 (71%) of the 17 cosmetic responders. For the patients treated with 0.5% anthralin, the mean time to response (44 of 66 patients) was 11 weeks; the mean time to cosmetic response (13 of 66 patients) was 23 weeks. Duration of the current episode of hair loss did not correlate with cosmetic response. Compared with other currently available topical treatments, anthralin appears to be a reasonable therapeutic option for severe alopecia areata.
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PMID:Evaluation of anthralin in the treatment of alopecia areata. 331 18

Psoriasis of the scalp is a frequently occurring condition affecting approximately 2% of the Western population. The sharply demarcated erythematosquamous lesions with silver-white scaling characterize scalp psoriasis. Quality of life can be seriously reduced by this condition and therefore long term treatment is needed in most patients. Coal tar shampoos, containing 2 to 10% coal tar solution, are effective in scalp psoriasis. However, no double-blind studies are available to support such an assumption. Salicylic acid 5 to 10% has a pronounced keratolytic effect. Salicylic acid should be formulated in an ointment, which can be washed off easily. Crude coal tar is the most effective tar available for the treatment of psoriasis. An important feature of coal tar is its potent efficacy against pruritus. At the scalp, the application of crude coal tar is difficult. Therefore coal tar solution is the most frequently applied tar preparation in scalp psoriasis. Dithranol 0.1 to 3% is manufactured in various formulations. Treatment is initiated at a low concentration and the concentration is increased stepwise until a slight irritation, the feeling of warmth, is reached. In the treatment of scalp psoriasis, cream formulations are used. Imidazole antifungals have been used with success in scalp psoriasis. Overgrowth of the scalp with pityrosporon is a well-known feature of scalp psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis. In case of resistance to other topical treatments use of a topical or systemic imidazole derivative might be helpful. So far, topical corticosteroids are the most frequently used treatments for psoriasis of the scalp. Corticosteroids inhibit epidermal proliferation, inhibit inflammation and modulate immune functions. Topical corticosteroids are fast acting: within 3 to 4 weeks maximal efficacy is reached. No data are available to support the efficacy and safety of topical corticosteroids during long term use. However, from epidemiologic surveys we know that these treatments are used by the majority of patients for more than 8 weeks. Since 1992 vitamin D3 formulations have been developed for the treatment of psoriasis. Calcipotriol is available in most countries. Tacalcitol is available in Japan and several other countries. Vitamin D3 analogues inhibit epidermal proliferation, enhance cornification and inhibit inflammation. Therefore, vitamin D3 analogues have a substantial antipsoriatic effect. Systemic treatments such as methotrexate, cyclosporine and acitretin are indicated in patients with recalcitrant disease. Management of scalp psoriasis requires long term strategies in order to reach an optimal improvement of the condition, while avoiding the adverse effects associated with the long term use of treatments.
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PMID:Psoriasis of the scalp. Diagnosis and management. 1170 93

Dithranol is infrequently used in psoriasis in spite of excellent efficacy due to its local adverse effects. We have synthesized a novel formulation of dithranol in which the drug is entrapped in phospholipid liposomes. This formulation has shown markedly low irritation and minimal staining of skin and clothes in preliminary studies. Twenty patients with bilaterally symmetrical stable plaque psoriasis applied 0.5% dithranol lipogel to lesions over one side of the body. On the other side, 10 patients were randomized to apply pure liposomal base and 10 applied a conventional cream containing 1.15% dithranol, 1.15% salicylic acid and 5.3% coal tar in a 30-minute, short contact regimen for 6 weeks. Patients were assessed for disease severity, perilesional erythema and skin staining, pruritus and any other adverse effects at baseline, 2, 4 and 6 weeks. Both lipogel and the cream significantly reduced the total severity score compared to the liposomal base at 4 (p = 0.004) and 6 (p = 0.01) weeks. There was no significant difference in the clinical response of dithranol cream and lipogel. Markedly low incidence and severity of perilesional erythema (p<0.001) and skin staining (p<0.05) was seen with the lipogel in comparison with the cream.
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PMID:A randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled study of a novel liposomal dithranol formulation in psoriasis. 1736 66