Scientists probe itch and pain mysteries with histamine and cowhage

NCT ID NCT07247695

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Aalborg University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study aims to understand how people perceive itch and pain, and how factors like placebo (expecting relief) or nocebo (expecting worsening) affect those sensations. Thirty healthy volunteers will have itch triggered on their forearms using histamine (like an allergy test) and cowhage (a plant spicule). They will rate their itch and pain levels continuously. The results may help design better treatments for chronic itch and pain.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: Histamine and cowhage (itch-inducing substances)

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Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 30 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Nov 2025

Expected to finish

Dec 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 60 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy men and women * 18-60 years * Speak and understand English Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnancy or lactation * Drug addiction defined as any use of cannabis, opioids, or other drugs * Previous or current history of neurological, immunological, musculoskeletal, cardiac disorder or psychiatric diagnoses that may affect the results (e.g., neuropathy, muscular pain in the upper extremities, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, etc.) * Moles, wounds, scars, or tattoos in the area to be treated or tested * Current use of medications that may affect the trial such as antihistamines and pain killers * Skin diseases * Consumption of alcohol or painkillers 24 hours before the study days and between these * Acute or chronic pain and itch * Participation in other trials within 1 week of study entry (4 weeks in the case of pharmaceutical studies) * Contraindications to capsaicin, including intolerance to chili or burns or wounds at the application site * The subject is assessed as unable to engage in the necessary cooperation required by the study

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As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Itch

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

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Scientists probe itch and pain mysteries with histamine and cowhage

What the study statuses mean