NEW- PRURITUS-ITCHING CREAM

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Naltrexone cream

helps alleviate chronic itching

Monday, June 11, 2007

NEW YORK - The

application of naltrexone, an " opiate receptor

antagonist, " to the skin is significantly more effective than placebo in

relieving chronic itching, also know as pruritus, in patients with allergic

dermatitis, Swiss and German researchers report in the June issue of the

Journal of the American Academy of

Dermatology. Naltrexone,

also known under the trade names Depade and ReVia, is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration

to help patients with addition, by blocking the effects of the drugs. The approach also seems promising for

other types of itching. Other uses of naltrexone may include " persons with dry, irritated

skin -- especially the elderly population -- and those with other chronic

itching conditions. However, naltrexone will not work in acute forms of itching, hives

or kidney-related itching, lead investigator Dr. L. Bigliardi

told Reuters Health.

Bigliardi of

University Hospital, Lausanne and

colleagues initially conducted an open-label pilot study with 18 patients who

had different chronic pruritic disorders. After 2 weeks of using a topical

formulation of 1 percent naltrexone, more than 70

percent of these patients experienced a significant reduction in pruritus. The researchers established a correlation between mu-opiate receptor (MOR) expression in skin biopsies and

treatment with topical naltrexone. The team then went on to conduct a

placebo, crossover trial in 40 patients with localized and generalized

allergy-related dermatitis with severe pruritus. Overall, naltrexone

was about 30 percent more effective than placebo. It

was also faster, taking an average of 46 minutes to reduce symptoms by 50

percent, compared to 74 minutes for placebo. The

researchers note that part of the placebo effect may have been attributable to

the rehydrating qualities of the placebo cream. Bigliardi also

pointed out that treatment of chronic pruritus is difficult " because the

commonly used antihistamines are not efficient. " He

also noted that there have been " very few studies examining the effects of

topically applied active ingredients in pruritus. " He and his colleagues call for further

investigation, but conclude that the results " clearly show " the

potential of a topically applied opioid receptor

antagonist in the treatment of pruritus.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of

Dermatology, June 2007.

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