ABSTRACT
Itch or pruritus is defined as an unpleasant subjective sensation leading to the need or to the idea of scratching. A number of studies have shown that pruritus is often responsible for marked morbidity, quality of life impairment, and even for increased mortality. Patients suffering from chronic pruritus had also decreased self-esteem, suffer from anxiety or depression and have problems to cope with negative feelings. Several studies documented that itching is a very prevalent symptom of psoriasis affecting more than 70% of individuals and for many patient it is the most bothersome symptom of the disease. While assessing various aspects of itch in psoriatic patients it was found that individuals with pruritus had a significantly lower health-related QoL; patients with pruritus, moreover, were more depressed than those without itching. In conclusion, pruritus is closely related to decreased psychosocial well-being of patients with chronic pruritic skin diseases, including psoriasis. It is important to underscore that itch may interfere with various aspects of patient functioning, emotions and social status and should therefore be adequately addressed while treating patients with psoriasis.
Subject(s)
Pruritus/psychology , Psoriasis/psychology , Quality of Life , Adaptation, Psychological , Anxiety/psychology , Depression/psychology , Humans , Self ConceptSubject(s)
Pruritus/classification , Pruritus/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Chronic Disease , Female , Germany , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle Aged , Minimal Clinically Important Difference , Poland , Prospective Studies , Severity of Illness Index , Visual Analog ScaleABSTRACT
Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is known to be one of the most important environmental hazards acting on the skin. It was revealed that chronic exposure to UVR accelerates skin aging, induces immunosuppression and may lead to the development of skin cancers. On the other hand, UVR has been shown to be effective in the treatment of numerous skin diseases and thus, various phototherapy modalities have been developed to date. Narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) emitting a light with a peak around 311 nm has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of various skin disorders; currently it is one of the most commonly used phototherapy devices. Despite NB-UVB has been developed more than 30 years ago, the exact mechanism of its therapeutic action remains poorly understood. To date, most of NB-UVB effects were attributed to its influence on immune cells; however, nearly 90% of NB-UVB irradiation is absorbed by epidermis and keratinocytes seem to be important players in mediating NB-UVB biological activity. Here, we have reviewed the current data about the influence of NB-UVB on epidermal cells, with a special emphasis on cell proliferation and death.
