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

Two new methods are described for the quantitative measurement of itch: the principle is to measure scratch which is the major objective correlate of itch. The first method is to record whole body movement at night by a vibration transducer on a bed leg; this gives qualitative and quantitative information. The second method is to measure limb movement with movement-sensitive meters; this give only quantitative data but is quicker and more easily carried out. The subjective sensation of itch was found to correlate well with nocturnal scratch, confirming the basic assumption of the method. Itching as measured by scratch occurs throughout the night and increased severity of itch is accompanied by an increase in the number of bouts of itch and not in their duration. Nocturnal restlessness is associated with an increase in leg movement and so can be dissociated from itch-provoked scratch, which is mostly done by the hands. The response of pruritus to treatment was demonstrated by both methods.
Br J Dermatol 1975 Sep
PMID:A new method for the measurement of itch and the response to treatment. 119 38

We have found that pretreatment of human skin with prostaglandin E1 significantly lowers the threshold of human skin to itching evoked by both histamine and papain. Prostaglandins may thus potentiate pruritus in inflammatory skin disease, presumably by a non-specific effect on nerve-endings.
Br J Dermatol 1976 Mar
PMID:Prostaglandins and pruritus. 125 58

A method of inducing controlled levels of terminable itching was developed. This method consists of administering constant monophasic pulsations of electric current by means of noninvasive electrodes. Once experimental pruritus had been reliably reproduced, two variables, hypothesized to be relevant to the perception of itching, were investigated, viz, the presence of a positive or a negative history of a pruritic dermatosis, and the presence of a high or low level of psychological stress. Both variables were found to be related to the perception of itching, but in different manners. A positive history of a pruritic dermatosis lowered the threshold for the perception of itch stimuli, while a high level of psychological stress enhanced the ability to discriminate among the more intense itch stimuli, with no effect on the itch threshold.
Arch Dermatol 1976 Mar
PMID:Pruritic skin diseases, psychological stress, and the itch sensation. A reliable method for the induction of experimental pruritus. 125 46

Weaned hairless rats were fed a diet deficient in fat, magnesium and folacin. After approximately 1 week, an erythematous dermatitis developed which was associated with extreme generalized pruritus. Scratching led to excoriations and hemorrhagic crusting. The acute stage (pruritic rash) resolved after several days and was followed by sporadic non-itching relapses. Subsequent to the onset of symptoms, rats were treated orally, once daily for 3 days with CyA, CyH or FK506. The immunosuppressants CyA and FK506 caused a dose-dependent inhibition of symptoms in contrast to CyH. The immediate clinical response was associated with changes in blood histamine, white blood cell counts and histological parameters. Since CyH is known to lack immunosuppressive activity, these results may indicate that the cutaneous changes induced by the nutritional deficiency are associated with immunological abnormalities. The results may also indicate mechanisms influenced by CyA and FK506 but not by CyH; for example, release of chemical mediators from inflammatory cells.
Exp Dermatol 1992 Nov
PMID:Diet-induced dermatitis response of hairless rats to systemic treatment with cyclosporin A (Sandimmun), cyclosporin H and FK506. 128 11

Patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) often develop unusual skin complications. We describe a case of a 58-year-old man with AIDS who had a history of multiple transfusions with anti-hemophilic factor A. He developed papulovesicular and lichenified skin lesions on his head, face, neck and the extensor aspects of his extremities accompanied by severe pruritus. Atopic dermatitis was suspected; however, intensive treatment with a potent topical corticosteroid and a systemic antihistamine failed. In addition to the decreased subset of CD4-positive lymphocytes characteristic of AIDS, this patient showed an elevated level of serum IgE particularly specific for Candida albicans, probably because he had a chronic candidial infection of the digestive tract. Oral administration of anti-fungal agents Diflucan and Fungizone produced almost complete relief from the atopic dermatitis-like skin disease within 2 weeks.
J Dermatol 1992 Dec
PMID:An AIDS patient with atopic dermatitis-like eruption responsive to systemic anti-fungal treatment. 129 91

Tea tree oil (an essential oil derived primarily from the Australian native Melaleuca alternifolia) has been used as a topical antiseptic agent since the early part of this century for a wide variety of skin infections; however, to date, the evidence for its efficacy in fungal infections is still largely anecdotal. One hundred and four patients completed a randomized, double-blind trial to evaluate the efficacy of 10% w/w tea tree oil cream compared with 1% tolnaftate and placebo creams in the treatment of tinea pedis. Significantly more tolnaftate-treated patients (85%) than tea tree oil (30%) and placebo-treated patients (21%) showed conversion to negative culture at the end of therapy (p < 0.001); there was no statistically significant difference between tea tree oil and placebo groups. All three groups demonstrated improvement in clinical condition based on the four clinical parameters of scaling, inflammation, itching and burning. The tea tree oil group (24/37) and the tolnaftate group (19/33) showed significant improvement in clinical condition when compared to the placebo group (14/34; p = 0.022 and p = 0.018 respectively). Tea tree oil cream (10% w/w) appears to reduce the symptomatology of tinea pedis as effectively as tolnaftate 1% but is no more effective than placebo in achieving a mycological cure. This may be the basis for the popular use of tea tree oil in the treatment of tinea pedis.
Australas J Dermatol 1992
PMID:Tea tree oil in the treatment of tinea pedis. 130 75

In the light of current epidemiological data, demonstrating a high prevalence of genitoanal papilloma virus infection (GPVI) existing merely in a subclinical or latent form, ambiguity has emanated on the level of ambition that should be considered optimal for the management of GPVI in the male. This review addresses a pragmatic approach to the problem, with an emphasis on diagnosing and treating overt condylomas causing psychosexual disturbance because of the growth of disfiguring but medically rather innocent condylomas, and of flat acetowhite lesions that cause symptoms such as itching, burning, and dyspareunia. The evaluation of children afflicted with genitoanal warts is elucidated. The significance of intraepithelial neoplastic transformation associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types such as HPV 16 is discussed, with reference to immunocompetent and immunosuppressed men. Although unequivocal histopathological signs of HPV influence often are absent, conventional light microscopy is usually adequate for differential diagnostic evaluation in clinical routine. In situ hybridization for the detection of HPV DNA may improve histopathologic accuracy.
Semin Dermatol 1992 Sep
PMID:Clinical relevance and evaluation of genitoanal papilloma virus infection in the male. 132 56

5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP) is considered an alternative to 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) for photochemotherapy of psoriasis. We have compared the clinical efficacy and tolerability of 5-MOP (1.2 mg/kg)-UVA versus 8-MOP (0.6 mg/kg)-UVA therapy in 25 patients of skin type III and IV, affected by relapsing plaque-type psoriasis of similar body involvement; indeed, the same patients were given 8-MOP during 1 year and 5-MOP during the subsequent year after relapsing. Both treatments cleared psoriatic lesions with a comparable number of exposures, but 5-MOP required significantly higher cumulative UVA doses. The difference was due to the lower phototoxicity of 5-MOP, as assessed by the determination of the minimal phototoxic dose, and to its higher tanning activity, as assessed by the weekly grading of pigmentation. Nevertheless, therapy by 5-MOP-UVA seemed particularly interesting in that it showed a higher tolerability since only 1 patient experienced nausea, whereas during therapy with 8-MOP-UVA nausea and/or vomiting occurred in 7 patients, sunburn in 6 and itching in 3. Since we have treated the same patients with the two drugs, our results were not influenced by interindividual variations of phototoxic responses, tanning ability and susceptibility to develop psoralen-induced short-term side-effects. It was concluded that, although long-term side-effects of the 5-MOP-UVA treatment have still to be determined, such treatment of psoriasis should be reappraised due to its higher tolerability in comparison to 8-MOP-UVA treatment.
Exp Dermatol 1992 Jul
PMID:A reappraisal of the use of 5-methoxypsoralen in the therapy of psoriasis. 136 9

Substance P is a neuropeptide (contained in/and released from the A delta and C nerve fibers of the skin), which provokes erythema, edema, and pruritus after intradermal injection. Local pretreatment with capsaicin produces decreased substance P-dependent erythema, with edema similar to that observed before pretreatment with capsaicin. We injected histamine and in a parallel experiment, substance P in five volunteers before and after local treatment with capsaicin, with 48/80, after 5 days of hydroxyzine. The injection of SP provoked erythema centered by a wheal. After treatment with 48/80, SP provoked increased erythema and a wheal. After hydroxyzine treatment, the injection of histamine produced no erythema or edema in four of the five subjects, while SP provoked erythema in all five subjects and edema similar to that observed before treatment with hydroxyzine. These data support the hypothesis that substance P provokes erythema and edema both with histamine-dependent and histamine-independent pathways.
Int J Dermatol 1992 Mar
PMID:Substance P provokes cutaneous erythema and edema through a histamine-independent pathway. 137 8

The effects of regular dish-washing on the stratum corneum barrier function, as determined by transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and objective and subjective skin parameters, were investigated in a 'use test' performed by 18 healthy volunteers. Hands were soaked in a 0.05% solution of a commercial dish-washing product (three times/day, for 15 min, at 37 degrees C) over a period of 3 weeks; one hand was unprotected and the other was protected with a commercial rubber glove. TEWL increased in 13/18 volunteers by more than 25% above baseline on exposed hands within the first 2 weeks of the study. Objective skin signs (erythema, scaling, fissures) and subjective symptoms (itching, dryness, smarting) occurred almost exclusively in subjects with substantial TEWL increases and were most prominent 1-2 weeks following peak TEWL values. There was a highly significant correlation between cumulative relative symptom scores and TEWL changes. TEWL increase and symptom scores were not correlated with a history of inhalant allergy and/or elevated serum IgE levels. Three volunteers, who had shown the highest increase of TEWL values and the most intense clinical reactions to the detergent were subjected to a control experiment in which one hand was soaked in warm tap-water following the same experimental protocol. No significant effects on TEWL values or skin symptoms were observed. We conclude that regular exposure to low concentrations of detergents as used for dish-washing is capable of inducing skin lesions in a substantial proportion of individuals.
Br J Dermatol 1992 Aug
PMID:The influence of daily dish-washing with synthetic detergent on human skin. 139 Jan 41


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>