“…However, due to the lack of established markers for human pruriceptive nerve fibers-the mentioned studies used the pan-fiber marker protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5)-the significance of such epidermal innervation changes for electrical induction of pruritus in AD patients remains unclear and needs further investigation. Epidermal thickening, especially prevalent in eczematous AD skin, adds an additional layer of complexity as it might increase the distance between the most superficial nerve fibers and the transdermal stimulation electrodes as well as the length and axonal branching pattern of the nerve terminals, both of which might influence their excitability (65,66). b) Most ion channels with established roles in the transduction of natural nociceptive stimuli, including the polymodal transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily members TRP vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), are only weakly voltage dependent, limiting their contribution to electrically induced depolarization (67,68).…”