Prurigo nodularis is a skin disease with unknown origin which is frequent in patients on maintenance renal replacement therapy. Here, we report a patient who was dialyzed for more than 10 years with different dialyzers using different dialyzer membranes. Each time when the patient was switched to a polymethylmethacrylate membrane (Filtryzer BK-1.6P), itching and skin lesions disappeared completely. This effect could be verified three times.

Sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) caused by infection, is a major public health concern with limited therapeutic options. Infection disturbs the homeostasis of host, resulting in excessive inflammation and immune suppression. This has prompted the clinical use of immunomodulators to balance host response as an alternative therapeutic strategy. Here, we report that Thymopentin (TP5), a synthetic immunomodulator pentapeptide (Arg‐Lys‐Asp‐Val‐Tyr) with an excellent safety profile in the clinic, protects mice against cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)‐induced sepsis, as shown by improved survival rate, decreased level of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and reduced ratios of macrophages and neutrophils in spleen and peritoneum. Regarding mechanism, TP5 changed the characteristics of LPS‐stimulated macrophages by increasing the production of 15‐deoxy‐Δ12,14‐prostaglandin J2 (15‐d‐PGJ2). In addition, the improved effect of TP5 on survival rates was abolished by the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ) antagonist GW9662. Our results uncover the mechanism of the TP5 protective effects on CLP‐induced sepsis and shed light on the development of TP5 as a therapeutic strategy for lethal systemic inflammatory disorders.