Scientists unravel why skin conditions like eczema lead to itching. New research says...

In a new study, the scientists have unravelled the reason behind skin conditions like eczema causing itching in people.

One reason which is known to cause itching is inflammation which tends to get worse if people continue to scratch and their skin is damaged. However, as per the latest study, there are other reasons which may trigger itchiness.

Harvard Medical School's researchers have found that the bacterium can activate nerve cells in mice directly.

“What was surprising is that in some situations where there was very little inflammation, we could still see the mice scratching. It turns out, the reason is that the bacteria were directly acting on nerve fibres that produce itch,” said co-author of the study Isaac Chiu, who is also an associate professor of immunology at Harvard Medical School, reported NBC News.

Before the study was carried out, scientists knew that the bacterium S. aureus was related to eczema, however, there was no clarity on the exact link.

In the new study, it was found that once S. aureus got into the skin of the mouse, it released an enzyme known as V8.

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This enzyme activates a protein called PAR1, which is present in nerve cells in the skin. The activated protein transmits signals to the brain which makes the mouse itchy and prompts it to begin scratching.

Lab experiments, which involved human nerve cells, hinted at the possibility of the same mechanism taking place in people. However, the researchers did not express confidence in whether the findings directly translated to the possibility of the same occurrence in humans.

Research gives new direction in pursuit of treatments

The research offered scientists a new direction for pursuing in development of treatments for eczema, which has been affecting nearly 10 per cent of people in the United States.

The most common type of eczema, atopic dermatitis, leads to chronic itchy dry and cracked skin and has been strongly associated with allergies like asthma or hay fever.

Study's co-author and postdoctoral researcher in Chiu’s lab Liwen Deng said, “For patients with atopic dermatitis, almost all of their lesions harbor Staph aureus.”

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In the latest study, S. aureus bacteria were directly exposed to the skin of the mice for several days. After the third day, the researchers found that mice experienced skin irritation and the scratching increased significantly by the fifth day compared to mice who did not get exposed to the bacteria.

The study's results suggested that the bacterium had led to the itchiness. “Their study was able to break apart the inflammatory response and the itch response,” said Nathan Archer, who is an assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was not part of the study.

(With inputs from agencies)