Topic: scratching behavior

Intractable chronic itch is resistant to antihistamines, and difficult to treat, which significantly reduces quality of life. Here, we focused on GABA transporter 1 (GAT1) whose blockade might have an antipruritic effect by increasing endogenous GABA.The allergic contact dermatitis model of chronic itch was generated by applying 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNFB) onto the shaved neck skin using ICR male mice. Five days after sensitization by topical application of 50 µL 0.5% DNFB solution, mice were challenged repeatedly with 30 µL 0.25% DNFB solution on day 1, 3, 5, and 7. Scratching frequenc

Chronic atopic dermatitis (AD) affects millions globally and has an alarming propensity to generate comorbid chronic depression. Currently, no effective therapies exist specifically for AD-generated comorbid depression (ADCD), likely due to unknown itch- and affect-processing brain mechanisms and inadequate preclinical models. Hence, there is a critical need for a suitable pre-clinical research model that can be used to study ADCD’s unique pathophysiology. In this investigation, we searched for preclinical models of ADCD by evaluating previously established house dust mite-induced (HDM model)