Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23636773›Full record

ReviewPflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology2013

New insights into the mechanisms of itch: are pain and itch controlled by distinct mechanisms?

Tong Liu, Ru-Rong Ji

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
86citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
14.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

86 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 198 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Psychopharmacology in Dermatology.Indian dermatology online journal · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Trisubstituted 1,3,5-Triazines as Histamine HMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Distinct neural networks derived from galanin-containing nociceptors and neurotensin-expressing pruriceptors.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022
    Article
  20. Review

26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tong LiuPain Signaling and Plasticity Laboratory, Department of Anesthesiology and Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, 595 LaSalle Street, GSRB-I, Room 1027A, DUMC 3094, Durham, NC, 27710, USA, tong.liu@duke.edu.
Ru-Rong Ji
Duke University · USDuke University Hospital · US

Funding

Neuronal and glial interactions of neuropathic painR01DE017794 · NIDCR · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI BUCHHEIT, THOMAS · 2006 to 2021
$6.6M
Resolvins, protectins, and chronic pain resolution.R01NS067686 · NINDS · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI JI, RU-RONG, SERHAN, CHARLES NICHOLAS · 2009 to 2013
$2.8M
Hemichannels, Astrocytic Release, and Neuropathic PainR01DE022743 · NIDCR · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI JI, RU-RONG, NEDERGAARD, MAIKEN · 2012 to 2016
$2.0M
NIDCR NIH HHS DE17794NIDCR NIH HHS DE22743NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE017794NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE022743NINDS NIH HHS NS67686NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS067686
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Itch and pain are closely related but distinct sensations. They share largely overlapping mediators and receptors, and itch-responding neurons are also sensitive to pain stimuli. Itch-mediating primary sensory neurons are equipped with distinct receptors and ion channels for itch transduction, including Mas-related G protein-coupled receptors (Mrgprs), protease-activated receptors, histamine receptors, bile acid receptor, toll-like receptors, and transient receptor potential subfamily V1/A1 (TRPV1/A1). Recent progress has indicated the existence of an itch-specific neuronal circuitry. The MrgprA3-expressing primary sensory neurons exclusively innervate the epidermis of skin, and their central axons connect with gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR)-expressing neurons in the superficial spinal cord. Notably, ablation of MrgprA3-expressing primary sensory neurons or GRPR-expressing spinal cord neurons results in selective reduction in itch but not pain. Chronic itch results from dysfunction of the immune and nervous system and can manifest as neural plasticity despite the fact that chronic itch is often treated by dermatologists. While differences between acute pain and acute itch are striking, chronic itch and chronic pain share many similar mechanisms, including peripheral sensitization (increased responses of primary sensory neurons to itch and pain mediators), central sensitization (hyperactivity of spinal projection neurons and excitatory interneurons), loss of inhibitory control in the spinal cord, and neuro-immune and neuro-glial interactions. Notably, painful stimuli can elicit itch in some chronic conditions (e.g., atopic dermatitis), and some drugs for treating chronic pain are also effective in chronic itch. Thus, itch and pain have more similarities in pathological and chronic conditions.

Indexed as

AnimalsBrainChronic DiseaseHumansLysophospholipidsNeuronal PlasticityPainPerceptionPruritusReceptors, G-Protein-CoupledSensory Receptor CellsSerotoninSpinal CordSynaptic TransmissionToll-Like Receptorslysophosphatidic acidLysophospholipidsMrgprA3 protein, mouseReceptors, G-Protein-CoupledSerotoninToll-Like Receptors

Identifiers

PMID23636773
PMCPMC3796138
OpenAlexW1988631520

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 OpenQuestion graph.