PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Pruritus”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Suppression of histamine-induced pruritus by hydroxyzine and various neuroleptics.

This study evaluates the ability of hydroxyzine and various neuroleptics to suppress histamine-induced pruritus in ten volunteer subjects with the use of a double-blind crossover protocol. The itch threshold was determined in each volunteer by intradermal injection of gradually increasing concentrations of histamine. Volunteers were then given the study drugs and placebo at the same interval of time, under near identical conditions, and the itch threshold was determined. Thiothixene, hydroxyzine hydrochloride, chlorpromazine, thioridazine, and a lactose placebo were evaluated. Compared to other drugs, hydroxyzine alone was more effective in the suppression of histamine-induced itch. Consequently, hydrozyzine may be more effective in histamine-induced pruritus. The neuroleptic drugs used in this study do not significantly suppress histamine-induced pruritus, but they may be beneficial in nonhistamine-induced pruritus or psychogenic pruritus.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Cholestyramine in uraemic pruritus.

In a patient with longstanding severe uraemic pruritus who was undergoing chronic haemodialysis cholestyramine caused the pruritus to disappear completely within a few days. A four-week randomised controlled double-blind study was therefore performed in 10 other patients with uraemic pruritus who were on chronic haemodialysis. The pruritus improved considerably in four of the five treated patients, whereas only one of those treated with placebo experienced relief. The patient who had no relief while on cholestyramine showed a considerable improvement when the dose subsequently doubled. One of the five patients receiving cholestyramine experienced mild and easily reversible constipation, and another suffered nausea. Neither of these complications prevented the patients from continuing treatment. Cholestyramine seems to be useful in treating uraemic pruritus, although it is not known how it acts.

Cholestyramine Resin↗
PubMed1979

Pruritus in polycythemia vera: treatment with aspirin and possibility of platelet involvement.

The characteristic temperature-dependent pruritus in polycythemia vera (PV) is described. The triggering factor seems to be a sudden decrease in skin temperature, e.g. after a hot bath or shower. The sudden onset and limited duration of the pruritus might suggest an activation or release of some humoral factor(s). In a controlled study we showed that aspirin alleviates this particular pruritus. Therefore, the possibility of prostaglandin and platelet involvement was considered. It was found that substances such as PGE2 and serotonin, produced and released by platelets, could elicit pruritus in healthy volunteers when injected intradermally and that PGE2 enhanced the cutaneous responses to serotonin. Studies of platelet aggregation did not reveal any abnormalitites in the PV patients but ADP was shown to sensitize platelets to adrenaline-induced aggregation in vitro. Although not proven the following hypothesis is suggested: a combination of ADP, emerging from erythrocytes, and catecholamines released from adrenergic vasoconstrictor nerves when the skin is cooled down, might stimulate platelets to aggregation in skin vessels and to production and release of pruritogenic factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Suppression of histamine-induced pruritus by three antihistaminic drugs.

A double-blind crossover study of inhibition of histamine-induced pruritus by three commonly prescribed antihistamines was conducted on 28 normal subjects. Drugs used included diphenhydramine HCl (Benadryl), cyproheptadine (Periactin), hydroxyzine HCl (Atarax), and a lactose placebo in identical capsules. Intradermal histamine dose-response thresholds of pruritus were obtained before and after pretreatment with the three antihistamines and placebo in each subject. Analysis of data revealed a fivefold increase above baseline of the histamine dose required to produce pruritus following both cyproheptadine and placebo. This compared to a tenfold increase following diphenhydramine and a 750-fold increase following hydroxyzine HCl. The most common side effect was drowsiness, which occurred with all three drugs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Relief of pruritus as an early sign of spinal cord compression in Hodgkin's disease.

In a patient with advanced Hodgkin's disease (HD) associated with generalized pruritus, an unexpected relief of itching was found to be an early sign of spinal cord compression. Following irradiation of an extradural mass at the Th II level, itching recurred. Although the mechanisms bringing about itching in HD are unknown, the relief and recurrence of the symptom in our patient are in line with a peripheral origin of pruritus in the disease. Spontaneous relief of pruritus in HD despite other signs of active disease should prompt a neurological examination, since early recognition and treatment of spinal cord compression in lymphoma are important to avoid residual neurological disability.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Ultraviolet phototherapy of uremic pruritus.

Repeated exposure to mid-range ultraviolet light (UVB) can dramatically relieve the pruritus associated with uremia. The efficacy of UVB phototherapy in uremic pruritus has been established in a controlled trial; experience with 38 patients suggests that 80 to 90% of those receiving 6 to 8 exposures respond favorably within the treatment period (2 to 5 weeks). Treatment frequency appears not to influence the remission rate, although patients on more intensive schedules experience relief sooner than those treated once weekly. Remissions are long-lasting in many patients, sometimes longer than 2 years. Patients with recurrent pruritus respond to phototherapy at least as well as previously untreated patients and tend to improve more rapidly. UVB phototherapy appears to exert its beneficial effect systemically rather than locally, but its mechanism of action is otherwise unknown.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Ultraviolet phototherapy of uremic pruritus. Long-term results and possible mechanism of action.

The beneficial effect of sunburn-spectrum ultraviolet (UVB) phototherapy on uremic pruritus was studied. Seven patients were treated twice weekly for 4 weeks with UVB to one half of the body and placebo phototherapy to the other half. All patients noted generalized improvement without localization of benefit to the UVB side, suggesting a systemic effect of UVB. A comparison of three schedules varying from one to three treatments weekly showed that the percentage of patients responding was not influenced by frequency of UVB exposure, although patients treated more intensively improved faster. In three patients, improvement was delayed until 2 weeks after completion of a course of six treatments over 2 weeks, indicating a delayed onset of benefit in at least some patients. Overall 32 of 38 patients improved after a course of six or eight UVB exposures. Pruritus has recurred in 15 patients after a mean remission of 3 months. Sixteen patients are known to remain in remission for a mean of at least 10.6 months after the first or second course of treatment. The present evidence indicates a systemic mechanism of action for the long-lasting relief of uremic pruritus afforded by UVB phototherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

The efficacy of histamine antagonists as antipruritics in experimentally induced pruritus.

1. The antipruritic ability of histamine (H1 and H2) antagonists alone and in combination in experimentally induced pruritus has been investigated in 12 normal human volunteers. 2. A combination of cimetidine (H2 anatagonist) and chlorpheniramine (H1 antagonist) proved effective in suppressing itch that was artificially induced by the application of papain and histamine. 3. The combination was more effective than chlorpheniramine or cimetidine alone or placebo. 4. The results suggest that both H1 and H2 receptors are involved in the mediation of pruritus.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Pruritus ani: is anal sphincter dysfunction important in aetiology?

Forty-three patients whose principal symptom was pruritus ani were studied. Twenty-eight had anal disease, while in 15 no such disease could be shown. Maximum resting pressures and transient and sustained pressures of the anal canal in response to rectal distension were measured by manometry. Although the maximum resting pressure in the patients with no disease was about the same as that in the group with disease, the pressures recorded in response to rectal distension were significantly lower. These results show that the anal sphincter relaxes in response to rectal distension more readily in patients with no anal disease. Hence soiling may occur, which may be a factor in the genesis of pruritus ani.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

[Results of the treatment in cases of cold urticaria, cold pruritus and cold rhinitis with peritol (zyproheptadinhydrochlorid) (author's transl)].

19 patients with cold urticaria, 5 with cold pruritus and 2 with cold rhinitis were successfully treated with peritol with the exception of one patient who suffered from a symptomatic pruritus due to polycythemia vera. Even in cases of recurrence the treatment was at once successful. Therefore peritol seems to be useful in the treatment of diseases due to cold.

Cold Temperature↗
PubMed1977

Vulvar pruritus--a symptom, not a disease.

Because the underlying causes are so varied, vulvar pruritus must be understood as a symptom and not as a disease entity in itself. Successful treatment depends on proper identification of the underlying disorder.

Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal↗
PubMed1979

Localized pruritus-notalgia paresthetica.

Notalgia paresthetica, possibly an isolated sensory neuropathy involving the posterior primary rami of thoracic nerves T2 through T6, and appearing as pruritus of the back, is apt to be encountered by both dermatologists and neurologists. Two cases illustrate this disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

The prevalence and clinical diagnosis of vaginal candidosis in non-pregnant patients with vaginal discharge and pruritus vulvae.

Two hundred and thirteen nonpregnant female patients complaining of vaginal discharge or pruritus vulvae were recruited to the study by 45 general practitioners in the Yorkshire region. Of these patients, 102 (48 per cent) were found to have demonstrable vaginal mycosis on an initial swab and a further 10 to be swab positive after one week of placebo treatment. The total prevalence in this population of women consulting their practitioner was thus 52.6 per cent.Analysis of symptomatology and of physical findings showed that a clinical diagnosis of vaginal mycosis cannot be made with acceptable reliability.The occurrence of spontaneous swab conversion is noted, and its possible origins are discussed.

Female↗