cinnarizine and Pruritus

This double-blind study suggests that oxatomide may be considered a first-line alternative in the treatment of allergic follicular conjunctivitis. For 4 weeks 18 patients were treated with oxatomide at a dosage of 30 mg b.i.d. A randomized control group of 17 patients received a placebo. Already after 2 weeks, and more marked after 4 weeks, oxatomide produced a significantly higher reduction of itching and follicles than the placebo, involving a lower use of supplementary antihistamine medication. Globally, an excellent or good result was obtained in 78% of the oxatomide-treated patients but only in 29% of the placebo-treated patients. In the drug group 1 patient had gastrointestinal complaints and 1 felt slightly sleepy.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cinnarizine; Clinical Trials as Topic; Conjunctivitis; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Male; Middle Aged; Piperazines; Placebos; Pruritus; Random Allocation

There is a major clinical need for new therapies for the treatment of chronic itch. Many of the molecular components involved in itch neurotransmission are known, including the neuropeptide NPPB, a transmitter required for normal itch responses to multiple pruritogens in mice. Here, we investigated the potential for a novel strategy for the treatment of itch that involves the inhibition of the NPPB receptor NPR1 (natriuretic peptide receptor 1). Because there are no available effective human NPR1 (hNPR1) antagonists, we performed a high-throughput cell-based screen and identified 15 small-molecule hNPR1 inhibitors. Using in vitro assays, we demonstrated that these compounds specifically inhibit hNPR1 and murine NPR1 (mNPR1). In vivo, NPR1 antagonism attenuated behavioral responses to both acute itch- and chronic itch-challenged mice. Together, our results suggest that inhibiting NPR1 might be an effective strategy for treating acute and chronic itch.

Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Cell-Free System; Dermatitis, Contact; Disease Models, Animal; Ganglia, Spinal; Humans; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Neurons; Pruritus; Receptors, Atrial Natriuretic Factor; Reproducibility of Results; Signal Transduction; Small Molecule Libraries

Topics: Adult; Aged; Cinnarizine; Dermatitis, Atopic; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Piperazines; Pruritus; Tablets; Time Factors