Stress may trigger itching, says study

William Atkins
Monday, 27 October 2008 23:49

Science - Health

Scientists sometimes medically relate the itching sensation to the sensation of pain with regards to how it first starts and later spreads on the body.

But, they do know that when people are stressed out, the immune cells are put into overdrive.

This excess action, if left untreated, can cause skin problems such as psoriasis (red patches on the skin) and dermatitis (general inflammation of the skin).

To learn more as to whether undue stress can cause itching and scratching, the authors of the study—Ricarda Alcira Joachim, Bori Handjiski, Sandra Maria Blois, Evelin Hagen, Ralf Paus, and Petra Clara Arck—performed an experiment on laboratory mice.

So, they experimented with two proteins, LFA-1 (Lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1) and ICAM-1 (Inter-Cellular Adhesion Molecule 1), which both attract immune cells to the skin.

They found that stress in mice does activate immune cells within the skin of the mice.

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