Park Bomi, Kim Seong Jin
Department of Dermatology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
J Lifestyle Med. 2013 Sep;3(2):91-7. Epub 2013 Sep 30.
A patient recently presented with long-standing severe itching originating from lichen sclerosus et atrophicus at the vulva area. We successively treated her using a topical formulation of TRPM8 agonist which produces a cooling sensation. The cooling sensation, an afferent sensory perception in various skin neuronal pathways, could be a useful mechanism to relieve an itchy sensation in various skin disorders. Mechanoreceptors are related to touch vibration and pressure sensations and have a special morphology where the nerve endings are optimized to receive sensory inputs. However, unmyelinated nerve fibers are believed to transfer nociception such as pain, itching, stinging and burning derived from chemical or thermal stimuli. Among them, the function of transient receptor potential (TRP) receptors is very unique because they transfer the signal not only in the neuronal perception pathway but also in the cellular signal pathway where it appears as an ion channel. This review explains the cooling sensation of skin which has not been evaluated thoroughly, and provides insights for further clinical applications.
一名患者近期因外阴部位的硬化性萎缩性苔藓出现长期严重瘙痒。我们先后使用一种能产生清凉感的TRPM8激动剂局部制剂对她进行治疗。清凉感作为各种皮肤神经通路中的一种传入感觉，可能是缓解各种皮肤疾病瘙痒感的一种有用机制。机械感受器与触觉、振动和压力感觉相关，具有特殊的形态，其神经末梢经过优化以接收感觉输入。然而，无髓神经纤维被认为传递化学或热刺激产生的伤害性感觉，如疼痛、瘙痒、刺痛和灼痛。其中，瞬时受体电位（TRP）受体的功能非常独特，因为它们不仅在神经元感知通路中传递信号,还在细胞信号通路中传递信号，在细胞信号通路中它表现为一种离子通道。本文综述解释了尚未得到充分评估的皮肤清凉感，并为进一步的临床应用提供见解。
