Discovery of 'Itch Gene' May Lead to New Treatments (1/2)

Itchy skin is a common problem. Severe itching can interfere with sleep or lead to painful damage from scratching. Now, scientists may have a way to develop new treatments for severe itching. They report finding a gene that sends the itch signal up the spinal cord to the brain. This is the first gene identified for the itch sensation in the central nervous system.

A team led by Zhou-Feng Chen at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri, made the discovery in mice. The study appeared last week in the journal Nature.

The gene is called GRPR, for gastrin-releasing peptidereceptor. This gene has been studied for years, but scientists did not know it was linked to itching. The Washington University researchers say they discovered the connection by accident while searching for genes linked to pain.

During their experiments, they gave itch-causing substances to some laboratory" class="hjdict" word="laboratory" target=_blank>laboratory mice. They found that mice without the GRPR gene scratched much less than normal mice with the gene. However, the animals reacted to pain in the same way as normal mice.