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Updated: Jul 8, 2025
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Cheek Injection Model for Simultaneous Measurement of Pain and Itch-related Behaviors
Published on: September 27, 2019
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Similarities and differences in peripheral itch and pain pathways in atopic dermatitis
Gil Yosipovitch1, Brian Kim2, Thomas Luger3
1Miami Itch Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Fla.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
|December 16, 2023
Summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD) involves both intense itch and pain due to somatosensory aberrations. Understanding shared and distinct peripheral mechanisms of itch and pain in AD offers new therapeutic insights.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
Background:
- Atopic dermatitis (AD) frequently involves debilitating itch and significant pain in over 40% of patients.
- Patients with AD exhibit somatosensory alterations like hyperknesis, alloknesis, and allodynia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and compare the peripheral mechanisms underlying itch and pain in atopic dermatitis.
- To highlight similarities and differences in neuronal signaling pathways.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on peripheral mechanisms of itch and pain in AD.
- Analysis of shared and distinct mediators, receptors, and ion channels involved in sensory signaling.
Main Results:
- Itch and pain share common mediators (e.g., serotonin, IL-33), receptors (GPCRs, TLRs), and ion channels (TRP channels).
- Distinct immune responses and specific TRP channels (TRPM2, TRPM3) differentiate pain from itch signaling.
- Opioid receptor activation differentially affects pain and itch.
Conclusions:
- Peripheral mechanisms of itch and pain in AD share common pathways but possess distinct signaling components.
- Elucidating these connections may lead to novel therapeutic strategies for chronic itch and pain in AD.
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