Microbiom-induced pruritus

Many people suffer from constant itching. This is because over half of skin problems and many health issues are linked to itching. There are two main reasons why people itch. One involves histamine and can be effectively treated with related medicines. The other reason is not well understood and there are no good treatments. The type of bacteria on your skin can affect how much you itch. The brain gets signals about itching through special nerves. This was thought to require the immune system but now we know it can happen directly too. These nerves use special channels to sense the respective molecules. When these nerves get activated, it can also change how your body fights infection. To find out what is causing itching for a common skin problem, we will take samples from both a healthy area and an itchy area of a common skin disease. We will look at what bacteria are present and what are the important chemicals involved. We will try to recreate itching to see what causes it. We want to find out how bacteria cause itching. With this information, we hope to create new treatments that target the respective channels and the bacteria causing itching. In the future, we want to be able to make a treatment plan that is personalized for each person, including taking care of the bacteria and the pathways that trigger itching, along with medicine to fight infection.