Offering details on the pharmacology of itch, techniques of itch evaluation, and neurogenic itch, this reference presents new concepts in the neurophysiology and central mechanisms of itch, animal models of itch, and processing of histamine itch in the human cerebral cortex. The text clarifies itch in systemic and skin disease, exploring renal itch, uremic pruritus, lichen amyloidosis and more.

Itch Definitions, Gil Yosipovitch and Malcolm Greaves; Neurophysiologic Basis of Itch, Martin Schmelz and Herman O. Handwerker; Pain and Itch, Martin Schmelze and Herman O. Handwerker; Central Neural Mechanisms of Itch, David Andrew and Bud A. D. Craig; Animal Models of Itch - Scratching Away at the Problem, Earl Carstens and Yasushi Kiraishi; Histamine-Induced Discriminative and Affective Response Revealed by Functional MRI, Francis McGlone, Roman Rukweid, Matt Howard, and David Hitchcock; Central Nervous System Imaging of Itch with PET, Ulf Darsow, Alexander Drzezga and Johannes Ring; Skin Nerve Anatomy - Neuropeptide Distribution and its Relationship to Itch, Dieter Metze; Substance P and Itch, Tsugunobu Andoh and Yasushu Kiraishi; Peripheral Opiate Receptor System in Human Epidermis and Itch. P.L. Bigliardi and M. Bigliardi-Qi; Antipruritic Activity of a Novel K-Opioid Agonist TRK-820, Jun Utsumi, Yuko Togashi, Hideo Umeuchi, Kiyoshi Okano, Toshiaki Tanaka and Hiroshi Nagase; Putative Role of Cannabinoids in Experimentally Induced Itch and Inflammation in Human Skin, Roman Rukwied, Melitta Dvorak, Allan Watkinson and Francis McGlone; Itch Models in Animals, Jens Schiersing Thomsen; Human Itch Models with Special Emphasis on Itch in SLS-Inflamed and Normal Skin, Jens Schiersing Thomsen; Microdialysis in Itch Research, Martin Schmelz.

"…useful not only for dermatologists and non dermatologists who treat itching, but also for neurophysiologists, pharmacologists, and all the medical and chemical community interested in Cosmetic Dermatology."-Journal of Applied Cosmetology