This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on Web of Science (2)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

A Factor in the Prevention of Psychosomatic Skin Diseases

LEON GOLDMAN, M.D.

AMA Arch Derm. 1958;78(2):171-173.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Those interested in the preventive aspects of the so-called psychosomatic skin reactions need to consider the central fixation phenomenon. This phenomenon has been seen before in instances of painful phantoms which occur after amputation. It is seen also in postherpetic neuralgia; here we have observed failure of relief of pain even with such vigorous peripheral measures as cord section. This same type of central fixation phenomenon can occur in chronic pruritic dematoses as a central fixation of "perceptability of itching."

In the analysis of the background of the persistence of chronic pruritic dermatoses there are certain phases to be considered. One is the local structural change in the skin which makes for continued stimuli of itching sensation. This structural change is associated with acanthosis, fibrosis, chronic inflammation, and local neural changes. These changes then can cause endogenous stimulation of the so-called itch point of Shelley and Arthur¹ . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Cincinnati

From the Department of Dermatology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Footnotes
Submitted for publication Feb. 10, 1958.

Presented in the Psychosomatic Dermatology Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Nov., 1957.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?