Maternal known drug allergy and long-term dermatological morbidity of the offspring

Drug allergy is associated with adverse short-term perinatal outcomes such as caesarian delivery and preterm delivery. The aim of the present study was to determine whether being born to a mother with known drug allergy increases the risk for long-term dermatological morbidity of the offspring. A population-based cohort study, comparing long-term dermatological morbidity of offspring to mothers with and without known drug allergy, was conducted. Dermatological morbidity was assessed up to the age of 18 years according to a predefined set of ICD-9 codes associated with hospitalization of the offspring. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to compare cumulative incidence of long-term dermatological morbidity, and a Cox proportional hazards model was constructed to control of confounders. During the study period, 243,682 deliveries met the inclusion criteria, of them 4% (n = 9756) were of mothers with known drug allergy. Offspring born to mothers with known drug allergy had higher rates of long-term dermatological morbidity Likewise, the cumulative incidence of long-term dermatological morbidity was higher as compared with those without known drug allergy (Kaplan-Meier log-rank P = .021). Using a Cox proportional hazards model, controlling for confounders, being born to a mother with known drug allergy was found to be an independent risk factor for long-term dermatological morbidity of the offspring (adjusted HR 1.2, 95% CI 1.03-1.33, P = .016). Being born to a mother with known drug allergy is independently associated with higher risk for long-term dermatological morbidity of the offspring.

Sensitivity to oxazolone induced dermatitis is transferable with gut microbiota in mice

Atopic Dermatitis (AD) has been associated with gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis in humans, indicating a causative role of GM in AD etiology. Furthermore, the GM strongly correlates to essential disease parameters in the well-known oxazolone-induced mouse model of AD. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to transfer both a high-responding and a low-responding AD phenotype with GM from conventional mice to germ-free mice. The mice inoculated with the high-responding GM had significantly higher clinical score, increased ear thickness, and increased levels of IL-1β, TNFα, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-6 compared to the mice inoculated with the low-responding GM. The inter-individual variation was in general not affected by this increase in effect size. Germ-free mice induced with AD revealed a high disease response as well as high inter-individual variation indicating protective properties of certain microbial taxa in this model. This study underlines that the GM has a strong impact on AD in mouse models, and that the power of studies may be increased by the application of mice inoculated with a specific GM from high responders to increase the effect size.

Fermented barley extract suppresses the development of atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice, probably by inhibiting inflammatory cytokines

We have found that fermented barley extract (FBE), prepared from barley shochu residue, alleviates allergic rhinitis in OVA-sensitized mice. In this study, we examined to determine whether FBE suppresses the development of atopic dermatitis (AD)-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice. The development of AD-like skin lesions in a 5% FBE containing diet group was significantly inhibited, and scratching behavior, one of aggravating factors, was also suppressed. Neither serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels nor interleukin (IL)-4 production by spleen cells in the 5% FBE diet group was found to be significantly reduced. On the other hand, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and IL-17 production by spleen cells in the 5% FBE diet group was significantly reduced. Hence it was assumed that FBE alleviates AD-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice, probably by modulating the cytokine production involved in chronic inflammation, such as IFN-gamma or IL-17.

Serum eosinophil cationic protein in children with atopic dermatitis

BACKGROUND

Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) is a cytotoxic agent secreted by activated eosinophils during allergic and inflammatory processes. The aim of the study was to determine the ECP level, absolute and relative eosinophil count and IgE antibodies in children with atopic dermatitis (AD) compared with those of nonatopic children, and to assess the correlation of these laboratory parameters with the clinical severity of AD.

METHODS

This prospective study comprised 70 children. There were 49 children with AD aged 3-36 months, and the control group comprised 21 children with a negative personal and family history for atopic diseases. Detailed history, serum ECP levels (UniCAP FEIA), relative and absolute eosinophil counts and total serum IgE antibodies were determined in both groups. In the children with AD, skin involvement was measured by the SCORAD index.

RESULTS

The calculated SCORAD index was between 16 and 83. IgE antibodies, relative and absolute eosinophil counts showed a significantly wider range of values and a statistically higher median (P < 0.001) in the patients with AD compared with the control group. These laboratory parameters did not correlate with the severity of AD. The serum ECP median level, in the children with AD, was 16.2 microg/L (range 3.01-65.30) compared with 5.92 microg/L (range 2.76-21.90) in the control group. Correlation of the total SCORAD index and the serum ECP levels was negative, weak (r = -0.065) and statistically not significant (P > 0.05). The same was found for the correlation of serum ECP and intensity of skin changes (r = -0.095) and serum ECP and subjective symptoms (r = -0.045). The correlation was positive, but weak and statistically not significant for the serum ECP and extent of the skin lesions (r = 0.079, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Elevated levels of ECP, relative and absolute eosinophil counts, as well as IgE antibodies were determined in the patients with AD. As these laboratory findings did not correlate with the severity of AD, they can be considered only as additional methods in the evaluation of patients with AD.

Frequency of sister chromatid exchanges in the lymphocytes of patients with atopic dermatitis

The combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors can induce allergic sensitization and subsequent local inflammation, resulting in atopic dermatitis (AD). Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) is a sensitive method that may reflect an instability in DNA or a deficiency in DNA repair. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether patients with AD have defects in DNA repair and whether SCE frequency can be used as a genetic marker in the pathogenesis of AD. Between September 2004 and July 2005, SCE was analyzed in the peripheral blood lymphocyte chromosomes of 32 patients with AD and 28 control subjects at the Dermatology Unit of Erzurum State Hospital. This study found that the SCE frequency was significantly increased in patients with AD (P < 0.00001). The prevalence of SCE was not correlated with patient age, sex, disease duration or AD disease severity. Our results indicate that increased chromosome instability may play an important role in the etiology of AD.

Atopic dermatitis: pathogenetic mechanisms

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with increasing incidence and socio-economical relevance. The diagnosis is made on clinical grounds and different diagnostic criteria sets have been established. The majority of all AD cases is associated with a sensitization to environmental allergens and increased serum IgE (so-called extrinsic AD), but about 10--30% of all cases suffer from the so-called intrinsic AD, which obviously lacks any link to the classical atopic diathesis. The genetic background of AD has been investigated by target gene approach by different groups with mostly contradictory results for each of the genes under study. An imbalance in the spectrum of Th1/Th2 responses, a disturbed prostaglandin metabolism, intrinsic defects in keratinocyte function, delayed eosinophil apoptosis, IgE-mediated facilitated antigen presentation by epidermal dendritic cells, a two phase model of the inflammatory response and staphylococcal superantigen effects are among the currently studied pathogenetical aspects of extrinsic AD, which are reviewed in this paper.

A prospective study of 200 women with dermatoses of pregnancy correlating clinical findings with hormonal and immunopathological profiles

In 1994 we set up a specialist clinic for pregnancy dermatoses, both to improve the management of pregnant women with skin problems and to enhance our general understanding of the pregnancy dermatoses. This clinic has provided a large database of 200 women which has formed the basis for a prospective study over a 2-year period. In each case the dermatological diagnosis was clearly defined on clinical criteria, with additional help from histopathology and direct immunofluorescence of the skin where appropriate. We have included a number of patients who presented with relatively trivial diagnoses, as this reflects the referral patterns of our midwives, general practitioners and obstetricians within our hospital and local population. Our results show that all patients with specific dermatoses of pregnancy conformed well to the classification established by Holmes and Black in 1983. The role of the sex hormones [oestradiol, human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and cortisol] in polymorphic eruption (PEP) and prurigo of pregnancy was studied in 125 cases and compared with 138 normal healthy pregnant controls. For pruritic folliculitis (PF), serum androgens were measured to establish if these were elevated. Nearly all patients were followed up postpartum, with respect to both maternal and fetal prognosis (some were unfortunately lost to follow-up). Many patients were primiparous (47%) and presented in their third trimester (49%). This study shows a surprisingly high prevalence of eczema during pregnancy. It is possible that earlier cases in the literature termed prurigo of pregnancy may in fact have been eczema, thus explaining the low incidence of prurigo in this study. Hormonal analysis showed a significant reduction in serum cortisol levels in patients with PEP compared with normal pregnant controls (P = 0.03), although hCG and oestradiol showed no differences. Serum androgens were not significantly elevated in patients with PF compared with controls. Birthweight (analysed by the individualized birthweight ratio) was significantly reduced in both the PF and pemphigoid gestationis groups. In the PEP and PF groups there was a male/female infant ratio of 2 : 1, not noted in previous studies. In all cases studied there were no adverse effects either on maternal or fetal outcome as a result of the pregnancy dermatosis. This study indicates that all patients fulfilled the criteria of the previous classification of the specific dermatoses of pregnancy, although we also now highlight the frequency of eczema in pregnancy and speculate as to possible causes. There were no cases of papular dermatitis of pregnancy. We feel that the specialist clinic is an important service which has improved the management of these women and identified areas for further research.