An End to Sunburn Pain: Scientists Say It’s Possible | TIME.com

For sun worshipers, the sting of the sunburn is sometimes the price of bronzed skin, but it doesn't have to be that way, according to researchers.

Wolfgang Liedtke, a Duke University neurologist, and scientists from Rockefeller University and the University of California San Francisco discovered that by blocking a molecule called TRPV4, they can eliminate the chain of events that result in the pain caused by sunburn.

Most sunburns are triggered by ultraviolet B rays (UVB) that damage the skin's outermost layer, which can result in redness and burning. In moderate amounts, exposure to UVB rays can be beneficial, launching the body's vitamin D-making processes. But with intense exposure, UVB rays can contribute to skin cancer and accelerate skin aging as well. In their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Liedtke and his colleagues showed they could halt the process by which UVB rays irritate skin cells in both mice and people.

UVB rays activate TRPV4 to allow calcium ions into skin cells, and lead to secretion and increased production of another molecule called endothelin, which causes pain and itching. The researchers identified this pathway after they bred mice that were missing TRPV4 in the outer layer of the skin on their hind paws, which resembles human skin. When their paws were exposed to UVB rays, the mice showed little change or pain to their skin, while normal mice with TRPV4 developed blisters and redness....

Source: Psychology of Pain - August 7, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs