Pruritus: still a challenge

Paulo Rowilson Cunha, Oswaldo Delfini Filho

Pruritus is a symptom that may be associated with a wide array of diseases - skin diseases, systemic diseases or even those without a defined cause. According to its severity and evolution, it may compromise the patients' quality of life in a significant way. New therapeutic approaches, in which histamine release is not the main event, are being described for pruritus control. Therefore, taking into account the origin of the mediators of pruritus, we conducted a review of the available resources emphasizing that, although very important, anti-histamines are not the answer for every kind of pruritus.