Brain correlates of acupuncture and anti-histamine alleviation of allergen-induced itch in patients with atopic eczema

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Florian Pfab
• Subject Area: Dermatology
• Term: from 2010 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 165786757

Itch is a prevalent and vexing symptom of many dermatological and allergological diseases. Previous studies by our group have demonstrated for the first time that itch can be investi-gated with functional MRI (fMRI) brain imaging techniques by adapting the itch sensation to a block experimental design. Specifically, histamine-induced itch can be modulated “on” and “off” by alternating temperature at the site of the insult. This phasic stimulus model paved the way for fMRI studies evaluating the cerebral processing of histamine-induced itch in healthy volunteers as well as patients with atopic dermatitis. The first aim of this scientific project is to evaluate the cerebral processing of a clinically more relevant allergen-induced itch in patients with atopic eczema. In addition, conservative treatments of itch are much needed and our studies suggest that acupuncture shows promise as a therapeutic tool, exhibiting point-specific effects on hista-mine-induced itch in healthy volunteers as well as allergen-induced itch in patients with atopic eczema. Moreover, our collaborators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) are the leading group investigating the brain circuitry underlying acupuncture effects in hu-mans, and have demonstrated that acupuncture modulates some of the same limbic and paralimbic brain regions which we hypothesize to be the neural correlates of acupuncture modulation of itch. Hence, a second aim of this project is to investigate the cerebral effect of acupuncture on allergen-induced itch in patients with atopic eczema in comparison to a pla-cebo acupuncture and to a current itch standard therapy with antihistamines. By combining the strong dermatological expertise of our group with the acupuncture neuroi-maging expertise of the MGH group, this proposal will begin to unravel the complex mecha-nisms underlying acupuncture efficacy in the treatment of itch and itch-related pathology.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Bruce Rosen, Ph.D.