Itching — Research Has Barely Scratched the Surface

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
ITCHING is the dominant symptom of skin disease and a frequent manifestation of systemic disease. It causes more distress than even pain, because it is frequently intractable. Numerous analgesic drugs relieve pain effectively, but there are no specific antipruritic drugs. Research on the pathophysiologic features of itching has been meager. Because itching has traditionally been considered a response to a stimulus below the threshold of pain, many investigators have assumed that research models for pain are applicable and have therefore neglected itching as a separate sensation.Although pain and itching are both transmitted through the C fibers of polymodal nociceptors, . . .