The Any Year Itch

Another discovery in genetics besides the new study on spontaneous genetic mutations an autism may not get as much attention, but could bring some real relief.

Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have foun the first gene connection to the sensation of itching. Science Daily reports:

The “itch gene” is GRPR (gastrin-releasing peptide receptor), which codes for a receptor found in a very small population of spinal cord nerve cells where pain and itch signals are transmitted from the skin to the brain. The researchers, led by Zhou-Feng Chen, Ph.D., found that laboratory mice that lacked this gene scratched much less than their normal cage-mates when given itchy stimuli.

The laboratory experiments confirmed the connection between GRPR and itching, offering the first evidence of a receptor specific for the itch sensation in the central nervous system.

The new study (published in the July 25th Nature) could, Science Daily notes, lead to new treatments that directly target itchiness. It being July and Charlie liking to spend so much time outside, he has on occasion gotten a lot of insect bites and no matter how much he is told not to scratch, he does—–a new “anti-itch” ointment might not be a bad thing! (And I won’t go into the time he had the chicken pox when he was five and most definitely would have scratched away—but he had a very mild case.)