Popular Science The culprit molecule is called natriuretic polypeptide b, or Nppb. Itching was long regarded as simply a less intense form of pain. In 1987, H.O. Handwerker, a German scientist, used histamine to induce itchiness in participants. Those participants ...
Science News One of the chemicals that topped the list was a neurotransmitter called Nppb, for natriuretic polypeptide b. They engineered mice that lack the gene to make Nppb and injected itch-inducing substances under the animals' skin. The animals barely ...
New Scientist As a result, these mice also lost a protein called neuropeptide natriuretic polypeptide B (NPPB) that is expressed by cells in the nerve pathways between the skin and spinal cord. NPPB is more commonly linked to the heart, says Hoon, which secretes it ...
Xinhua Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health said that there will be no itch if the molecule, a small neuropeptide called natriuretic polypeptide b, or Nppb, is taken away, but injecting it in the right place, the itch will come back. The ...