Competence Center Chronic Pruritus, Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Münster, Germany.
Expert Opin Emerg Drugs. 2012 Sep;17(3):335-45. doi: 10.1517/14728214.2012.711316. Epub 2012 Aug 7.
The symptom of chronic pruritus (> 6 weeks of duration) represents a worldwide burden in patients. It is described as the most frequent symptom of the skin complaints and occurs in a broad variety of diseases. However, research on pruritus has been disregarded for a long time, most likely because pruritus used to be considered as a subtype of pain.
Although understanding of the epidemiology, clinic and neurobiology of acute and chronic pruritus has considerably expanded in the past years, the therapy of chronic pruritus patients remains challenging. The current guidelines suggest antihistamines, pain modulators, opioid receptor antagonist and antidepressants. Using this, a large number of patients experience relief but mostly no complete resolution. Recent experiences with neurokinin receptor 1 antagonists suggest that target-specific antipruritic drugs are of high efficacy and desirable in chronic pruritus treatments.
New substances and classes of antipruritic drugs are highly needed. Promising candidates are next to neurokinin receptor 1 antagonists, antagonists against the histamine 4 receptor, nerve growth factor receptor or gastrin-releasing peptide receptor.
慢性瘙痒症（持续时间超过 6 周）的症状在患者中代表着全球性的负担。它被描述为皮肤投诉中最常见的症状，发生在广泛的各种疾病中。然而，瘙痒症的研究长期以来一直被忽视，这很可能是因为瘙痒症曾经被认为是疼痛的一种亚型。
尽管近年来人们对急性和慢性瘙痒症的流行病学、临床和神经生物学有了相当大的了解，但慢性瘙痒症患者的治疗仍然具有挑战性。目前的指南建议使用抗组胺药、疼痛调节剂、阿片受体拮抗剂和抗抑郁药。虽然有大量的患者因此得到缓解，但大多没有完全消除。最近使用神经激肽受体 1 拮抗剂的经验表明，针对特定靶点的止痒药物在慢性瘙痒症治疗中具有很高的疗效和理想性。
非常需要新的止痒药物和药物类别。有前途的候选药物除了神经激肽受体 1 拮抗剂外，还有组胺 4 受体拮抗剂、神经生长因子受体或胃泌素释放肽受体拮抗剂。
