2023-12-20 20:49:03
Researchers have discovered that a skin bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, causes persistent itching. This discovery could help researchers develop new, more effective treatments.
What if ultimately the unbearable itching that accompanies eczema was due to a microbe? In any case, this is what suggests a new study carried out by scientists from the Faculty of Medicine of Harvard University in the United States, the results of which were recently published in the academic journal Cell.
Their research shows that a well-known bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (its scientific name Staphylococcus aureus), causes this persistent itching. This discovery could help scientists design new, more effective treatments. Enough to give hope to the approximately 2.5 million patients in France.
Eczema is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by hereditary factors, but also by environmental factors that are still poorly understood. Also known as “atopic dermatitis”, this skin syndrome is relatively common in children and adolescents, but also affects adults. Most current treatments that exist have the effect of soothing the skin, calming the immune system and restoring the skin barrier, but without completely eliminating the disease.
Researchers have long known that people lacking filaggrin (a skin protein) are more likely to develop eczema. But the specific cause of the accompanying itch remained a mystery until now. “We have identified an entirely new mechanism causing itching: the Staph aureus bacteria, which is found in almost all patients with chronic atopic dermatitis. We show that itching can be caused by the microbe itself “, explains Isaac Chiu, immunologist, in a communiqué.
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Lab experiments in the study showed that the bacteria release a chemical that activates a protein in the nerve fibers that transmit signals from the skin to the brain. In these mouse trials, researchers used an anticoagulant drug that successfully blocked the activation of the protein to interrupt this key step that causes the itching sensation. The treatment helped reduce symptoms and therefore minimize skin damage. Human trials are to be carried out soon.
Matthieu DELACHARLERY
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