BACKGROUND notalgia paresthetica is a subdiagnosed sensory neuropathy presenting as a condition of intense itching and hyperchromic macule on the back that interferes with daily habits. OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacy of treatment of notalgia paresthetica using oral gabapentin, assessing the degree of improvement in itching and influence on quality of life. Moreover, to evaluate the sign...

BACKGROUND Pruritus (skin irritation or itching) is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 4 and 5. It is associated with disrupted sleep, reduced quality of life, depression and increased mortality. A video of a patient describing the symptoms is at vimeo.com/49458473. METHODS We used gabapentin or pregabalin in 71 consecutive patients, 82% male. 25 had CKD stage 4 or 5,...

Objectives  We report on a patient suffering from intractable itching secondary to intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) unresponsive to conventional medical therapies. She was started on a regimen of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), which is often efficacious in relieving patient's itching from all causes of cholestasis, including ICP. Methods  We performed a retrospective review of a ...

Background Post-herpetic itch (PHI) is a neuropathic itch syndrome following herpes zoster. It has been reported that PHI is occasionally sufficiently severe to compromise patients' quality of life and frequently refractory to treatment. Here, we present a case of severe chronic PHI successfully treated with supraorbital nerve block using a high concentration of tetracaine dissolved in bupivaca...

AIM To determine whether use of a topical, nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-itching formula was able to preserve the absence of symptoms, mainly itching and burning, induced by an earlier and relatively short treatment with topical steroids in women diagnosed with vulvar dermatitis or lichen simplex. METHODS Ninety-six subjects (36 with contact dermatitis, 29 with allergic dermatitis...

Itching is a rare symptom in neurological disease. Paroxysmal symptom is uncommon in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) or multiple sclerosis. We describe a 45-year-old woman who presented with paroxysmal pruritus in association with relapse of NMO on two separate occasions. Cervical MRI showed a lesion at a level corresponding to the dermatomal site of the itching. Paroxysmal pruritus could be a predi...

The phenomenon of itching has received surprisingly little scientific scrutiny despite its commonality--hence its designation as a kind of neglected, "orphan symptom." Recent research and clinical understanding has shed light on itching, helping to illuminate its previously shaded landscape. This course reviews the nature of itching, its physiology, major triggers of particular interest to anes...