Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease in which pruritus is
the most serious problem, because scratching worsens the dermatitis itself in AD patients
[
[1]
]. The prevention of the pruritic sensation and/or pruritus-associated scratching behavior
have/has been considered as an effective treatment for AD [
[2]
]. Antihistamine treatment is not sufficient to inhibit pruritus in AD patients; topical
steroid application is crucial for the management of AD, but steroid cannot be used
for long periods due to frequently observed side-effects. Paroxetine, a selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), has been used as an antidepressant agent in the
clinical treatment in human and it was also reported that Paroxetine was effective
in the treatment of intractable pruritus, especially caused by malignant diseases
[
3
,
4
]. However, it has never been reported whether or not Paroxetine is effective in the
treatment of pruritus in AD patients. In the present study, we used NC/Nga mice, an
animal model for human AD [
[5]
], to assess the inhibitory effect of Paroxetine on the development of dermatitis and
to obtain basic information about the usefulness of Paroxetine in the treatment of
AD.Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Dermatological ScienceAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Itching and the atopic skin.J Allergy Clin Immun. 1999; 104: S109-S113
- Vital role of the itch–scratch response in development of spontaneous dermatitis in NC/Nga mice.Brit J Dermatol. 2004; 151: 335-345
- Paroxetine for pruritus in advanced cancer.J Pain Symptom Manag. 1998; 16: 121-124
- Paroxetine in the treatment of severe non-dermatological pruritus: a randomized controlled trial.J Pain Symptom Manag. 2003; 26: 1105-1112
- NC/Nga mice: a mouse model for atopic dermatitis.Int Arch Allergy Imm. 1999; 120: 70-75
- The different roles of 5-HT2 and 5-HT3 receptors on antinociceptive effect of paroxetine in chemical stimuli in mice.J Pharmacol Sci. 2005; 97: 61-66
- Paroxetine in the elderly: a comparative meta-analysis against standard antidepressant pharmacotherapy.Pharmacology. 1995; 51: 137-144
- Paroxetine: current status in psychiatry.Expert Rev Neurother. 2007; 7: 107-120
- Psychophysiological reactivity under mental stress in atopic dermatitis.Dermatology. 2005; 210: 286-293
- Anxiety, depression and psychosomatic symptoms in patients with atopic dermatitis: comparison with normal controls and among groups of different degrees of severity.J Dermatol Sci. 1997; 14: 63-67
Article info
Publication history
Received:
December 22,
2006
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
