ArticleThe Journal of investigative dermatology2018
Cooling Relief of Acute and Chronic Itch Requires TRPM8 Channels and Neurons.
Article in The Journal of investigative dermatology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pathogenesis and Therapeutics for Chronic Pruritus of Unknown Origin: A Systematic Review.International journal of dermatology · 2026Pooled it
- Interventions for chronic pruritus of unknown origin.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- From neuroimmune circuits to targeted therapy of chronic pruritus.Pharmacological reviews · 2026Review
- The Role of Neuro-Immune Regulation in the Pathogenesis of Psoriasis.Journal of immunology research · 2026Review
- Itching, Ionic Channels, Immune System, Magnesium and Antioxidants.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2026Review
- Cool baby oil for pruritus and sleep quality among uremic patients: a nurse-led randomized controlled trial.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Modulatory effects of bioactive natural compounds on pruritic pathways: mechanistic basis and therapeutic prospects.Inflammopharmacology · 2025Review
- Direct modulation of TRPM8 ion channels by rapamycin and analog macrolide immunosuppressants.eLife · 2025Article
- A Study on Scratching Behavior Characteristics in Patients With Various Types of Chronic Pruritus.Allergy, asthma & immunology research · 2025Article
- Scratching the Surface: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Managing Vulvovaginal Itching.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2025Review
- Repositioning Fluoxetine as a TRPV3 Channel Inhibitor to Alleviate Skin Inflammation and Pruritus.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Article
- Molecular and cellular mechanisms of itch sensation and the anti-itch drug targets.Acta pharmacologica Sinica · 2025Review
- From Compression to Itch: Exploring the Link Between Nerve Compression and Neuropathic Pruritus.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2025Review
- The neurotrophic factor artemin and its receptor GFRα3 mediate migraine-like pain via the ion channel TRPM8.Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache · 2024Article
- The neurotrophic factor artemin and its receptor GFRα3 mediate migraine-like pain via the ion channel TRPM8.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Comparison of the Effectiveness of Different Methods for Pain Reduction During Injection Procedures in the Frontalis Muscle.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2024Article
- Site-Specific Transient Receptor Potential Channel Mechanisms and Their Characteristics for Targeted Chronic Itch Treatment.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- The Effect of Osthole on Transient Receptor Potential Channels: A Possible Alternative Therapy for Atopic Dermatitis.Journal of inflammation research · 2024Article
- Targeting Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) Channels, Mas-Related G-Protein-Coupled Receptors (Mrgprs), and Protease-Activated Receptors (PARs) to Relieve Itch.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- An update on mechanisms of pruritus and their potential treatment in primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Cooling or the application of mentholated liniments to the skin has been used to treat itch for centuries, yet remarkably little is known about how counter-stimuli such as these induce itch relief. Indeed, there is no clear consensus in the scientific literature as to whether or not cooling does in fact block the transduction of itch signals or if it is simply a placebo effect. This gap in our understanding led us to hypothesize that cooling is antipruritic and, like cooling analgesia, requires function of the cold-gated ion channel TRPM8, a receptor for menthol expressed on peripheral afferent nerve endings. Using a combination of pharmacologic, genetic, and mouse behavioral assays, we find that cooling inhibits both histaminergic and non-histaminergic itch pathways, and that inhibition of itch by cooling requires TRPM8 channels or intact and functional TRPM8-expressing afferent neurons. The cold mimetic menthol is also effective in ameliorating itch in a TRPM8-dependent manner. Moreover, we find that chronic itch can be ameliorated by cooling, demonstrating that this counter-stimulus activates a specific neural circuit that leads to broad itch relief and a potential cellular mechanism for treatment of chronic itch.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.