Scalp dysesthesia: a neuropathic phenomenon
Conflicts of interest
GY is a scientific board member and consultant and received honoraria from Pfizer, Trevi, Sanofi Regeneron, Galderma, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Kiniksa, Bellus, and LEO. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
Funding sources
This manuscript was not funded.
This manuscript has not been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All authors have approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.
Abstract
Scalp dysesthesia is an abnormal sensation of the scalp in the absence of cutaneous disease. It is characterized by a burning and/or itching sensation and can be related to a variety of neurogenic or psychogenic causes. This condition is extremely bothersome and is also common- especially among the geriatric population, in women, in patients with diabetes mellitus, and patients with psychiatric history. However, despite its prevalence in many populations, there are limited data about its causes and characteristics. Given its limited cutaneous manifestations, it is also easily misdiagnosed and an underrecognized cause of scalp pruritus in the dermatological community. Therefore, education on scalp dysesthesia is paramount to helping physicians identify and provide appropriate treatment for these patients. This review focuses predominantly on the neurogenic causes (with a brief review of psychogenic itch) of scalp dysesthesia and the therapeutics that have been found to be effective for this condition. Neurogenic causes of scalp dysesthesia occur with damage to the central or peripheral pathways of itch sensation, resulting in modification and heightened sensitivity of nerves that result in abnormal sensations in the absence of or out of proportion to external stimuli. A comprehensive review of etiologies is provided here, ranging from lesions to the central nervous system caused by cervical spine disease, trigeminal trophic syndrome, tumor, stroke, and multiple sclerosis, to small-fiber neuropathies caused by diabetes, brow lifts, keloid, and burn scarring. Recently, there have also been reports of scalp dysesthesias associated with post-infectious COVID-19. Treatment options tailored toward disease severity and different causes of disease will also be discussed. By elucidating the different mechanisms and therapeutic treatments of scalp dysesthesia, we hope to provide clinicians with the tools to identify and treat this condition as well as encourage further research into its etiologies and therapeutics.
Open Research
Data availability statement
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.