An April 2021 study by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School said,
"In atopic dermatitis, the itching can be horrific and it can aggravate disease,"
"We began collaborating for two reasons: one is an interest in science -- I wandered into the study of what is now the cysteine leukotriene pathway decades ago, and I've been pursuing it ever since. The second reason is itch -- understanding its cause and connections to neurons."
"As a neuro-immunologist, I'm interested in how the nervous system and immune system cross-talk,"
"Itch arises from a subset of neurons, and acute itch may be a protective response to help us remove something that's irritating the skin. However, chronic itch is not protective and can be pathological. The underlying mechanism that activates neurons and causes chronic itch is not well understood and new treatment is needed."
"The last ten years or so of research in the field of chronic itch have shown the importance and the complexity of the interactions between the immune system and the nervous system,"
"It was very exciting to explore the contribution of cysteine leukotrienes in these neuro-immune cross-talks leading to itch, including in a mouse model of AD."
"The joy of research is doing it for the pleasure of finding out something you didn't know. The immune system is far more complex than we give it credit for. Understanding the involvement of nerves is an immense step forward -- it's been a missing piece in the study of inflammation. In my view, this is immensely important to connect neuroscience with those of us committed to studying inflammation."