Phenotyping itch in atopic eczema and psoriasis patients
Grantee: Dr Gil Yosipovitch, MD, Professor of the Department of Dermatology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Amount: EUR 264,874
Grant category: Research Grants in open competition
Year: 2012
Geography: USA
The LEO Foundation is supporting another project that investigates
itching and may also pave the way for new anti-itch treatments.
The study is led by Dr Gil Yosipovitch, MD, Professor of the Department of Dermatology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, and seeks to investigate aspects of itching in patients with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.
Itching affects millions of people worldwide and represents a significant medical challenge as no mechanism-specific treatments are currently available. The genetic aspects of itching in chronic pruritic conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis are also rather under-investigated.
Dr Gil Yosipovitch will examine the expression of genes, neuropeptides and other itch-specific mediators specifically implicated in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis in comparison to healthy controls.
The exploration of this area may hold good news for patients, as the findings may be useful in developing new anti-itch treatments.
Publication
The genetics of chronic itch: gene expression in the skin of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis patients with severe itch
* Nattkemper LA, Tey HL, Valdes-Rodriguez R, Lee H, Mollanazar NK, Albornoz C, Sanders KM, Yosipovitch G, The genetics of chronic itch: gene expression in the skin of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis patients with severe itch, The Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2018), doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2017.12.029.
See article (pdf): Genetics of Chr Itch