Targeting Interleukin-31 in Prurigo

Chronic prurigo is a debilitating, difficult-to-treat, and long-neglected disease characterized by chronic pruritus, signs of repeated scratching, and the presence of pruriginous lesions that may manifest as nodules, papules, plaques, umbilicated lesions, or all of these.1 The most commonly observed lesions are nodules, and if these are present, the disease is also called prurigo nodularis. Histologic findings of prurigo are epidermal hyperplasia, dermal fibrosis, and an inflammatory infiltrate. Itch is the dominant symptom and the most important driver of the severe impairment of quality of life, whereas the dermal changes are thought to contribute to the persistence of the disease. . . .