The study validated the application of infrared thermography in a serotonin-induced itch model in rats since the only available method in animal models of itch is the count of scratching bouts. Twenty four adult Sprague-Dawley male rats were used in 3 experiments: 1) local vasomotor response induced by intradermal serotonin (10 l) was evaluated against isotonic saline and Methysergide (10 l); 2...

The single scratching test of polymer polycarbonate (PC) sample surface using an atomic force microscope (AFM) diamond tip for fabricating ripple patterns has been studied with the focus on the evaluation of the effect of the tip scratching angle on the pattern formation. The experimental results indicated that the different oriented ripples can be easily machined by controlling the scratching ...

A 35% EtOH extract of the fruits of Chaenomeles sinensis, long utilized as a folk medicine for cough, significantly inhibited the pruritogenic agent compound 48/80 (COM)-induced scratching behavior in mice. Antipruritic activity-guided fractionation and purification yielded active quercetin, apigenin, and catechin derivatives, which exhibited significant inhibitory effects on COM-induced scratc...

Measurements of oxygen consumption (VO2) were made during sleep in 10 patients with atopic dermatitis. Two groups of healthy children acted as controls. All subjects were studied in bed in an environmental temperature of 24-26 degrees C, and sleep was confirmed during continuous electroencephalographic monitoring. Mean (SD) values of VO2 in sleeping patients who were not scratching ranged from ...

BACKGROUND Proteinase-activated receptor-2 (PAR2) is involved in dermatophyte-induced scratching and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) release from keratinocytes. We investigated whether PAR2-mediated LTB4 production is involved in dermatophyte-induced scratching. METHODS Dermatophyte extract was injected intradermally and scratching was observed in mice. LTB4 was determined by enzyme immunoassay. RESU...

Substance P (SP) is a member of the tachykinin peptide family. Hemokinin-1 (HK-1) was recently identified as a new mammalian tachykinin peptide. SP and HK-1 consist of undecapeptides and share a common carboxyl-terminal (C-terminal), Phe-Xaa-Gly-Leu-Met-amide motif, and more varied amino-terminals (N-terminal). The function of SP in the pain system of the spinal cord has been examined in detail...

To clarify the mechanisms by which compound 48/80 (C48/80) induces scratching behavior, the involvement of dopamine D(1) receptors was investigated. The intracisternal (i.t.) administration of SCH23390 (1.0 μg), a selective dopamine D(1) receptor antagonist, significantly decreased C48/80-induced scratching behavior in mice. These results suggest that dopamine D(1) receptors contribute to scrat...

UNLABELLED Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) venom (BV) has been traditionally used for the treatment of pain and inflammatory diseases such as itchy skin problems. However, the precise mechanism of BV in ameliorating the scratching behavior is not fully understood. OBJECTIVE In order to evaluate the effect of BV on atopic dermatitis-related symptoms in mice, we used a mouse skin scratching model ...

We investigated a spinal site for opioid modulation of itch-related scratching behavior in rats. Intradermal 5-HT (2%, 10 microl) elicited intermittent bouts of hindlimb scratching directed toward the injection site (nape of neck) beginning within minutes and lasting >1 hr. 5-HT-evoked scratching was significantly reduced by systemic administration of the opiate antagonist naltrexone but was no...

Overlapping neuronal networks have been shown to generate a variety of behaviors or motor patterns in invertebrates, but the evidence for this is more circumstantial in vertebrates. The turtle spinal cord can produce multiple forms of hindlimb scratching movements as well as hindlimb withdrawal, but it is still uncertain whether individual spinal cord interneurons contribute to the motor output...