Itch. Mechanisms and Treatment

Advances in itch research have elucidated differences between itch and pain but have also blurred the distinction between them. There is a long debate about how somatic sensations including touch, pain, itch, and temperature sensitivity are encoded by the nervous system. Research suggests that each sensory modality is processed along a fixed, direct-line communication system from the skin to the brain.

Itch: Mechanisms and Treatment presents a timely update on all aspects of itch research and the clinical treatment of itch that accompanies many dermatological conditions including psoriasis, neuropathic itch, cutaneous t-cells lymphomas, and systemic diseases such as kidney and liver disease and cancer.

Composed of contributions from distinguished researchers around the world, the book explores topics such as:

• • Neuropathic itch

• • Peripheral neuronal mechanism of itch

• • The role of PAR-2 in neuroimmune communication and itch

• • Mrgprs as itch receptors

• • The role of interleukin-31 and oncostatin M in itch and neuroimmune communication

• • Spinal coding of itch and pain

• • Spinal microcircuits and the regulation of itch

Examining new findings on cellular and molecular mechanisms, the book is a compendium of the most current research on itch, its prevalence in society, and the problems associated with treatment.

INDEX

Itch Hypotheses: From Pattern to Specificity and to Population Coding; Hermann O. Handwerker

Epidemiology of Itch; Elke Weisshaar and Uwe Matterne

Atopic Dermatitis; Ulf Darsow, Ulrike Raap, and Sonja Ständer

Clinical Aspects of Itch: Psoriasis; Adam Reich and Jacek C. Szepietowski

Pruritus in Renal Disease; Thomas Mettang

Pruritus of Cholestasis; Nora V. Bergasa

Neuropathic Itch; Anne Louise Oaklander

Pruritus in Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphomas; L. Misery

Pruriceptors; Matthias Ringkamp and Richard Meyer

Peripheral Neuronal Mechanism of Itch 1: Histamine and Itch; Robin L. Thurmond, Kayvan Kazerouni, Sandra R. Chaplan, and Andrew J. Greenspan

Role of PAR-2 in Neuroimmune Communication and Itch; Cordula Kempkes, Joerg Buddenkotte, Ferda Cevikbas, Timo Buhl, and Martin Steinhoff

Mrgprs as Itch Receptors; Benjamin McNeil and Xinzhong Dong

Role of Interleukin-31 and Oncostatin M in Itch and Neuroimmune Communication; Ferda Cevikbas, Cordula Kempkes, Timo Buhl, Christian Mess, Joerg Buddenkotte, and Martin Steinhoff

Toll-Like Receptors and Itch; Tong Liu and Ru-Rong Ji

Lipid Mediators and Itch; Tsugunobu Andoh and Yasushi Kuraishi

The Role of Transient Receptor Potential Channels in Acute and

Chronic Itch; Sarah R. Wilson and Diana M. Bautista

Sensitization of Itch Signaling 2: Itch Sensitization—Nerve Growth Factor, Semaphorins; Mitsutoshi Tominaga and Kenji Takamori

Peripheral Opioids; Paul L. Bigliardi and Mei Bigliardi-Qi

Spinal Coding of Itch and Pain; Tasuku Akiyama and Earl Carstens

Spinal Microcircuits and the Regulation of Itch; Sarah E. Ross, Junichi Hachisuka, and Andrew J. Todd

Itch Modulation by VGLUT2-Dependent Glutamate Release from Somatic Sensory Neurons; Qiufu Ma

Ascending Pathways for Itch; Steve Davidson, Hannah Moser, and Glenn Giesler

The Brain Processing of Itch and Scratching; Hideki Mochizuki, Alexandru D.P. Papoiu, and Gil Yosipovitch

Central Nervous Processing of Itch and Pain; Clemens Forster and Hermann O. Handwerker

Roles of Central Opioid Receptor Subtypes in Regulating Itch Sensation; Mei-Chuan Ko

Sensitization for Itch; Martin Schmelz

Index