The summaries are free for public
use. The Chronic Liver Disease
Foundation will continue to add and
archive summaries of articles deemed
relevant to CLDF by the Board of
Trustees and its Advisors.
Abstract Details
Cholestasis-Associated Pruritus and Its Pruritogens
Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Mar 9;8:639674. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.639674.eCollection 2021.
Jacqueline A G M Langedijk1, Ulrich H Beuers1, Ronald P J Oude Elferink1
Author information
1Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Tytgat Institute for Liver and Intestinal Research, Research Institute Amsterdam Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Metabolism (AGEM), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Abstract
Pruritus is a debilitating symptom of various cholestatic disorders, including primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and inherited progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC). The molecular mechanisms leading to cholestasis-associated pruritus are still unresolved and the involved pruritogens are indecisive. As a consequence of pruritus, patients suffer from sleep deprivation, loss of daytime concentration, auto-mutilation and sometimes even suicidal ideations. Current guideline-approved therapy of cholestasis-associated pruritus includes stepwise administration of several medications, which may alleviate complaints in some, but not all affected patients. Therefore, also experimental therapeutic approaches are required to improve patients' quality of life. This article reviews the current state of research on pruritogens and their receptors, and shortly discusses the most recent experimental therapies.