Objective

Antipruritic efficacy of polidocanol in non-histaminic pruritus 

Methodology

45 healthy volunteers (31 women, 14 men, aged 20 to 49)

Randomized, comparative study versus placebo

Skin pre-treatment with polidocanol 3% or placebo for 1 hour

Stimulation by application of histamine or of Cowhage, a protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) activator

Evaluation Criteria

Scoring of pruritus intensity every minute for 30 min after provocation, using a visual analog scale (VAS) 

Results

• Histamine and Cowhage both induce a rapid pruritic cutaneous reaction
  Polidocanol significantly reduced the intensity of Cowhage-induced pruritus by 31% (p<0.05) and its duration by 37% (p<0.07) compared with placebo (a)
• Polidocanol has no effect on histamine-induced pruritus (b)

Conclusion

Polidocanol acts specifically and significantly on PAR-2 receptor-mediated pruritus