Scientists have claimed that Itching could soon be relieved for millions of people by shining a light on the skin.
Tests on mice showed they no longer experienced the annoying sensation after undergoing the treatment, and they scratched less.
The results, which have been branded ‘exciting’, give new hope for those who suffer with chronic skin disorders such as eczema and psoriasis.
Itchy skin is a major symptom that many patients battling the conditions would describe as annoying or even life debilitating.
However, the relief of scratching an itch is only temporary, as it can cause the skin to be damaged further, creating a vicious cycle.
Current treatment options for relieving itchy skin relies, most often, on controlling the skin’s barrier and inflammation with creams and moisturisers.
This doesn’t target the itch itself, and what drives a chronic itch at a cellular level is not fully understood – despite years of research.
Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Rome set out to target the root cause of the itch, in hope of a new treatment.
They developed a chemical, called IL31-IR700, which is sensitive to light and binds to itch-sensitive cells in the surface of the skin.
The team injected this chemical into the skin of mice. When the chemical-treated skin was illuminated with near-infrared light, the cells which sense itch retracted from the surface of the skin, tests showed.
This made the tingling sensation of the itch stop, the researchers wrote in the report published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Dr Paul Heppenstall, study co-author, told MailOnline: ‘The infrared light activates a molecule called a photosensitizer which zaps anything in very close proximity to it.
‘As a result, when the photosensitizer is on the surface of the itch neurons, it clips off their endings so that they can no longer detect the itch.
‘The process is called photodynamic therapy and was originally developed to kill cancer cells.
‘By applying it in the skin in a very directed fashion we can selectively ablate the neurons which are causing the itch – much like performing microsurgery using light.’
To the delight of the researchers, led by Dr Linda Nocchi, the method worked well in mice with eczema.
They found it also benefitted the rodents with a rare genetic skin disease for which there is currently no cure – amyloidosis.
Amyloidosis describes a group of rare conditions which occur when a substance called amyloid builds up in the organs.
It can affect a list of organs including the heart, kidneys and liver. However, cutaneous amyloidosis effects the skin in a similar way to eczema.
Other types of nerve cells in the skin which allow you to feel sensations such as pain, vibration, cold or heat, were not affected by the light treatment.
The effect of the treatment lasted several months, suggesting this could be a long-term fix for people who have difficulty finding treatments.