Kill pain without the unbearable itch

摘要

THE intimate link between itch and pain has been teased apart for the first time - a development that could lead to powerful anaesthetics without any of that intolerable itching. Itch is one of the most common side effects of the anaesthetics used in procedures such as epidurals. One explanation is that itch and pain receptors are intrinsically connected. "Itch and pain are two sensations that antagonise each other," says Zhou-Feng Chen from Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. "By scratching you create a kind of mechanical pain and suppress the itch. Conversely, if you suppress pain you see more itching."