Pharmacology of the Skin I: Pharmacology of Skin Systems Autocoids in Normal and Inflamed Skin (Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, 87 / 1)

The recent interest in the pharmacology of the skin and the treatment of its diseases has come about for two reasons. The first is a realisation that many aspects of pharmacology can be studied as easily in human skin, where they may be more relevant to human physiology and diseases, as in animal models. Examples of this are the action of various vasoactive agents and the isolation of mediators of inflammation after UV irradiation and antigen-induced dermatitis. The second reason is the fortuitous realisation that a pharmacological approach to the treatment of skin disease need not always await the full elucidation of etiology and mechanism. For example, whilst the argument continued unresolved as to whether the pilo-sebaceous infection which constitutes acne was due to a blocked duct or to a simple increase in sebum production, 13-cis-retinoic acid was found quite by chance totally to ablate the disease; again, whilst cyclosporin, fresh from its triumphs in organ transplantation, has been found able to suppress the rash of psoriasis, it has resuscitated the debate on etiology. We are therefore entering a new era in which the pharmacology and clinical pharmacology of skin are being studied as a fascinating new way of exploring questions of human physiology and pharmacology as well as an important step in the development and study of new drugs, use of which will improve disease control and at the same time help to define pathological mechanisms. Front Matter....Pages I-XXIX Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Epidermis....Pages 3-30 Keratin....Pages 31-44 Regulation of Epidermal Growth....Pages 45-58 Epidermal Lipogenesis (Essential Fatty Acids and Lipid Inhibitors)....Pages 59-68 Fibroblasts, Collagen, Elastin, Proteoglycans and Glycoproteins....Pages 69-88 Dermal Blood Vessels and Lymphatics....Pages 89-116 Blood Flow — Including Microcirculation....Pages 117-127 Immunopharmacology of Mast Cells....Pages 129-166 Lymphocytes....Pages 167-173 Structure, Function and Control: Afferent Nerve Endings in the Skin....Pages 175-192 Sweat Glands: Eccrine and Apocrine....Pages 193-212 Thermoregulation and the Skin....Pages 213-221 Hair and Nail....Pages 223-232 The Sebaceous Glands....Pages 233-246 Metabolism of Sex Steroids....Pages 247-255 Melanophores, Melanocytes and Melanin: Endocrinology and Pharmacology....Pages 257-269 Cytokines in Relation to Inflammatory Skin Disease....Pages 271-286 Front Matter....Pages 287-287 Histamine, Histamine Antagonists and Cromones....Pages 289-308 Kallikreins and Kinins....Pages 309-330 Acetylcholine, Atropine and Related Cholinergics and Anticholinergics....Pages 331-345 Front Matter....Pages 287-287 Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, Related Compounds and Their Inhibitors....Pages 347-366 Slow Reacting Substance of Anaphylaxis....Pages 367-375 Complement....Pages 377-394 Neutrophil and Eosinophil Chemotaxis and Cutaneous Inflammatory Reactions....Pages 395-408 Neuropeptides and the Skin....Pages 409-422 Polyamines....Pages 423-439 Proteolytic Enzymes in Relation to Skin Inflammation....Pages 441-464 The Inflammatory Response — A Review....Pages 465-477 Specific Acute Inflammatory Responses....Pages 479-494 Back Matter....Pages 495-510 The pharmacology and clinical pharmacology of skin are being studied as a fascinating new way of exploring questions of human physiology and pharmacology as well as an important step in the development and study of new drugs. Detailed information in this attractive field is now available for the first time in one complete work, providing an invaluable basis for further study for both academic and industrial researchers and clinicians. The work is divided into two volumes which are independent, but complementary. The first is an account of the general pharmacology of the skin, while the second is concerned with disease and drugs. This initial Volume 87/I presents a well-structured description of the basic pharmacology of the skin systems, including their epidermal and dermal components, organs and functions, followed by a discussion of autocoids in normal and inflamed skin. The topics are dealt with by experts who update current knowledge, critically review subjects of controversy and indicate potential areas of development