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)

Bhallataka (Semecarpus anacardium Linn.; Ancardiaceae) is mentioned under Upavisha group in Ayurvedic classics and it is described as a poisonous medicinal plant in Drugs and Cosmetics Act (India), 1940. Fruit of Bhallataka is used either as a single drug or as an ingredient in many compound formulations of Indian systems of medicine to cure many diseases. Tarry oil present in the pericarp of the fruit causes blisters on contact. The major constituent of the tarry oil is anacardic acid and bhilawanol, a mixture of 3-n-pentadec(en)yl catechols. Bhilawanol A and B are known as Urushiols, and also, anacardic acid is closely related to Urushiol. Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis is the medical name given to allergic rashes produced by the oil Urushiol. This paper deals with five case reports of contact dermatitis caused during different stages of Shodhana (purificatory measures) of Bhallataka fruit due to improper handling of the utensils and disposal of media used in Shodhana procedure and their Ayurvedic management. To combat these clinical conditions, the affected persons were advised external application with pounded Nimba (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) leaves on the affected parts and internal administration of Sarivadyasava 30 ml thrice daily after food and Triphala Churna 5 g before food twice daily. Reduction of itching and burning sensation was observed after topical application.
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PMID:Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis caused during Shodhana (purificatory measures) of Bhallataka (Semecarpus anacardium Linn.) fruit. 2355 2

In the United States, poison ivy exposure is the most common naturally occurring allergen to cause allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). The immune and pruritic mechanisms associated with poison ivy ACD remain largely unexplored. Here, we compared skin whole transcriptomes and itch mediator levels in mouse ACD models induced by the poison ivy allergen, urushiol, and the synthetic allergen, oxazolone. The urushiol model produced a Th2-biased immune response and scratching behavior, resembling findings in poison ivy patients. Urushiol-challenged skin contained elevated levels of the cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), a T-cell regulator and itch mediator, and pruritogenic serotonin (5-HT) and endothelin (ET-1), but not substance P (SP) or histamine. The oxazolone model generated a mixed Th1/Th2 response associated with increased levels of substance P, 5-HT, ET-1, but not TSLP or histamine. Injections of a TSLP monoclonal neutralizing antibody, serotonergic or endothelin inhibitors, but not SP inhibitors or antihistamines, reduced scratching behaviors in urushiol-challenged mice. Our findings suggest that the mouse urushiol model may serve as a translational model of human poison ivy ACD study. Inhibiting signaling by TSLP and other cytokines may represent alternatives to the standard steroid/antihistamine regimen for steroid-resistant or -intolerant patients and in exaggerated systemic responses to poison ivy.
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PMID:Transcriptome profiling reveals Th2 bias and identifies endogenous itch mediators in poison ivy contact dermatitis. 3118 97