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Method for evaluating antipruritic agents Studies on methdilazine
Author(s) -
Friend Dale G.
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt196125605
Subject(s) - antipruritic , itching , placebo , medicine , dermatology , lesion , drug , pharmacology , surgery , pathology , alternative medicine
Pruritus, a common complaint, is a most difficult symptom to evaluate and is altogethe; analogous to pain in this respect. A method for evaluating the antipruritic activity of drugs is described which makes use of the reaction produced by urushiol. A skin lesion is created in healthy volunteers sensitive to poison ivy by application of a diluted solution of urushiol, The fully developed lesion produces severe itching, and the response of the subiect can be studied. by the standard double blind technique for the antipruritic effect of a drug compared with that of placebo. The lesion continues uniform in intensity for a period long enough to permit the subjects to serve as their own controls. In this technique, methdilazine and trimeprazine were compared to a placebo. Both drugs showed antipruritic efficacy, methdilazine producing a better response than trimeprazine under the conditions of the evaluation.