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Seeing Others Scratch Can Trigger Your Own Itch
Posted 28 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, March 28 – Seeing other people scratching can cause your brain to trigger your own itch, researchers suggest. The team at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center investigated the causes of what's known as "contagious itch." "It is conceivable that the neuronal networks or mechanisms underlying contagious itching may be similar to the ones involved in contagious yawning, a phenomenon that is still intensely studied, but not exactly clear," dermatologist Dr. Gil Yosipovitch said in a medical center news release. "The brain has such a powerful contribution to itch, and by understanding it, we may be able to develop future therapies that can target these areas and relieve the itch impulse," he added. Yosipovitsh and colleague Dr. Alexandru Papoiu monitored 14 healthy volunteers who had histamine or a placebo applied to their forearm, and 11 people with atopic dermatitis (a type of ... Read more
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