Prurigo Nodularis: A Review of IL-31RA Blockade and Other Potential Treatments

Anthony Bewley; Bernard Homey; Andrew Pink

doi:10.1007/s13555-022-00782-2

Prurigo Nodularis: A Review of IL-31RA Blockade and Other Potential Treatments

Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2022 Sep;12(9):2039-2048. doi: 10.1007/s13555-022-00782-2. Epub 2022 Aug 20.

Authors

Anthony Bewley¹, Bernard Homey², Andrew Pink³

Affiliations

¹ Barts Health NHS Trust, Queen Mary Medical School, University of London, London, UK. anthony.bewley@nhs.net.
² Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Dusseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
³ St John's Institute of Dermatology, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

Abstract

Prurigo nodularis (PN), or chronic prurigo, is a distinct disease characterized by the presence of chronic pruritus and multiple localized or generalized pruriginous lesions. While there are few epidemiologic studies describing the prevalence of PN, it is thought to be relatively rare, but is likely underdiagnosed and underrecognized. Management of PN is challenging, and there are no approved drugs that can relieve the distress as well as signs and symptoms caused by PN and its pruritus. Improved understanding of the neuroimmune pathways involved in management of PN have led to discovery and trial of emerging treatments for PN. This publication provides an overview of PN and discusses several of the most promising treatments that are undergoing evaluation.

Keywords: IL-31RA; Inflammatory skin disease; Interleukin; Interleukin-31; Nemolizumab; Nodular prurigo; Prurigo nodularis; Pruritus; Treatment.

Publication types

Review