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Aprepitant for the Treatment of Chronic Refractory Pruritus.

Publication ,  Journal Article
He, A; Alhariri, JM; Sweren, RJ; Kwatra, MM; Kwatra, SG
Published in: Biomed Res Int
2017

Chronic pruritus is a difficult condition to treat and is associated with several comorbidities, including insomnia, depression, and decreased quality of life. Treatment for chronic itch includes corticosteroids, antihistamines, and systemic therapies such as naltrexone, gabapentin, UV light therapy, and immunomodulatory treatments, including azathioprine, methotrexate, and cellcept. However, some patients still remain refractory to conventional therapy. Aprepitant is a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist approved for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced and postoperative nausea and vomiting (CINV, PONV). Recently, aprepitant has demonstrated effectiveness in several case series and open label trials in relieving pruritus for patients refractory to other treatments. Patients with pruritus associated with Sézary syndrome, mycosis fungoides, lung adenocarcinoma, breast carcinoma, sarcomas, metastatic solid tumors, chronic kidney disease, hyperuricemia, iron deficiency, brachioradial pruritus, and Hodgkin's lymphoma have experienced considerable symptom relief with short-term use of aprepitant (up to two weeks). Due to differences in reporting and evaluation of drug effects, the mechanism of aprepitant's role is difficult to understand based on the current literature. Herein, we evaluate aprepitant's antipruritic effects and discuss its mechanism of action and adverse effects. We propose that aprepitant is an alternative for patients suffering from pruritus who do not obtain enough symptom relief from conventional therapy.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Biomed Res Int

DOI

EISSN

2314-6141

Publication Date

2017

Volume

2017

Start / End Page

4790810

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Quality of Life
  • Pruritus
  • Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists
  • Morpholines
  • Humans
  • Chronic Disease
  • Aprepitant
  • Antiemetics
  • 10 Technology
  • 08 Information and Computing Sciences
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
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He, A., Alhariri, J. M., Sweren, R. J., Kwatra, M. M., & Kwatra, S. G. (2017). Aprepitant for the Treatment of Chronic Refractory Pruritus. Biomed Res Int, 2017, 4790810. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/4790810
He, Alice, Jihad M. Alhariri, Ronald J. Sweren, Madan M. Kwatra, and Shawn G. Kwatra. “Aprepitant for the Treatment of Chronic Refractory Pruritus.Biomed Res Int 2017 (2017): 4790810. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/4790810.
He A, Alhariri JM, Sweren RJ, Kwatra MM, Kwatra SG. Aprepitant for the Treatment of Chronic Refractory Pruritus. Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:4790810.
He, Alice, et al. “Aprepitant for the Treatment of Chronic Refractory Pruritus.Biomed Res Int, vol. 2017, 2017, p. 4790810. Pubmed, doi:10.1155/2017/4790810.
He A, Alhariri JM, Sweren RJ, Kwatra MM, Kwatra SG. Aprepitant for the Treatment of Chronic Refractory Pruritus. Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:4790810.

Published In

Biomed Res Int

DOI

EISSN

2314-6141

Publication Date

2017

Volume

2017

Start / End Page

4790810

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Quality of Life
  • Pruritus
  • Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists
  • Morpholines
  • Humans
  • Chronic Disease
  • Aprepitant
  • Antiemetics
  • 10 Technology
  • 08 Information and Computing Sciences