AD-Diagnosis

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) is the only disease-modifying treatment for children, adolescents, and adults with allergic diseases. The EU has a combined system of national and EU-wide marketing authorization for all medicines. Germany introduced a new therapy allergen ordinance in 2008. Allergen products manufacturers had to apply for marketing authorization application for the major allergen groups (grass group, birch group, mites group, bee/wasp venom). Due to the EU pediatric regulation, in force since 2007, manufacturers had also to submit a pediatric investigation plan (PIP) for each allergen product...

BACKGROUND: Conceptually, allergic responses may involve cross-reactivity by antibodies or T-cells. While IgE cross-reactivity among grass-pollen allergens has been observed, cross-reactivity at the allergen-specific T-cell level has been less documented. Identification of the patterns of cross-reactivity may improve our understanding, allowing optimization of better immunotherapy strategies. OBJECTIVES: We use Phleum pratense as model for the studying of cross-reactivity at the allergen-specific CD4(+) T cell level among DR04:01 restricted Pooideae grass-pollen T-cell epitopes...

BACKGROUND: Different populations of T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. OBJECTIVE: We investigated changes in TH-cell populations in patients with allergies after specific immunotherapy (SIT). METHODS: PBMCs were isolated from patients with allergies who received SIT and those who did not (controls). We tested the ability of peptides from 93 timothy grass (TG) proteins to induce T-cell responses (cytokine production)...

BACKGROUND: Accessible markers to predict the development of atopic diseases are highly desirable but yet matter of debate. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the role of blood eosinophils at 4 weeks and 7 months of life and their association with developing atopic dermatitis (AD) in a birth cohort of children with atopic heredity. METHODS: Infant blood samples for eosinophil counts were taken from 559 infants at 4 weeks and from 467 infants at 7 month of life with at least one atopic parent...

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex chronic inflammatory disease where allergens can act as specific triggering factors. AIM: To characterize the specificities of IgE-reactivity in patients with AD to a broad panel of exogenous allergens including microbial and human antigens. METHODOLOGY: Adult patients with AD were grouped according to the SCORAD index, into severe (n = 53) and moderate AD (n = 126). As controls 43 patients were included with seborrhoeic eczema and 97 individuals without history of allergy or skin diseases...

Atopic dermatitis (also known as atopic eczema) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is characterised by intense itching and recurrent eczematous lesions. Although it most often starts in infancy and affects two of ten children, it is also highly prevalent in adults. It is the leading non-fatal health burden attributable to skin diseases, inflicts a substantial psychosocial burden on patients and their relatives, and increases the risk of food allergy, asthma, allergic rhinitis, other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, and mental health disorders...

We present a 12-month-old Hispanic female with a reticulated, hyperchromic rash in a striated pattern appearing on upper and lower extremities and trunk and back since the age of 6 weeks. Over the next 10 months, the rash persisted. The rash did not respond to treatment with antifungals and steroids. During her 6-month wellness visit, the patient was diagnosed with incontinentia pigmenti (IP), a rare X-linked dominant disorder, fatal to male fetuses in utero. IP can lead to serious neurological and ophthalmologic consequences...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a disease characterized by relapsing eczema with pruritus as a primary lesion. Most patients have an atopic predisposition. The definitive diagnosis of AD requires the presence of all three features: (i) pruritus; (ii) typical morphology and distribution of the eczema; and (iii) chronic and chronically relapsing course. The current strategies to treat AD in Japan from the perspective of evidence-based medicine consist of three primary measures: (i) the use of topical corticosteroids and tacrolimus ointment as the main treatment for the inflammation; (ii) topical application of emollients to treat the cutaneous barrier dysfunction; and (iii) avoidance of apparent exacerbating factors, psychological counseling and advice about daily life...

PURPOSE: Questionnaire-based diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis (AD) have been proposed to detect the major group of AD with flexural dermatitis. We aimed to develop novel, questionnaire-based diagnostic criteria for childhood AD, which can detect more comprehensive AD including non-flexural type. METHODS: The draft version of questionnaire to detect childhood AD was prepared to be used for preliminary hospital- (n=1,756) and community-based (n=1,320) surveys...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a heterogeneous disease that manifests with a wide variety of clinical symptoms and signs. Due to the lack of definitive biomarkers for AD, it is very difficult to set up standard diagnostic criteria for AD which cover the entire spectrum of AD patients. Various instruments have been proposed for AD diagnosis, and they can be classified into a hospital setting or a community setting. From the preventive medicine viewpoint, questionnaire-based diagnostic criteria in a community setting are important to detect and manage childhood AD patients properly...

Atopic dermatitis is a challenging condition for clinicians and patients. Recent advances were documented in the Atopic Dermatitis Practice Parameter 2012, and we want to provide clinicians with key points from the Atopic Dermatitis Practice Parameter 2012. In this article, we highlight the evidence-based therapy of atopic dermatitis as well as provide practical tips for clinicians and families. An updated review of immunopathology provides a firm basis for patient education and therapy. We also review clinical diagnosis and ways to improve quality of life for patients with atopic dermatitis...

Atopic dermatitis is a very prevalent disease that affects children as well as adults. The disease has a severe impact on quality of life for the patients and their families. The skin in atopic dermatitis patients is a site of both a severe inflammatory reaction dominated by lymphocytes and decreased skin barrier function. The treatment of the disease is mainly aimed at reducing the inflammation in the skin and/or restoring the skin barrier function. However, most of the treatments used today singularly aim at reducing the inflammation in the skin...

Histamine is thought to have a critical role in the synthesis of extracellular matrix in skin and may be involved in tissue remodeling of allergic diseases. Recent studies revealed that periostin, a matricelluar protein, contributed to tissue remodeling; however, a link between periostin and histamine remains unproven. We investigated whether periostin was involved in histamine-induced collagen production. Cultured dermal fibroblasts derived from wild-type (WT) or periostin knockout (PN(-/-)) mice were stimulated with histamine, and then collagen and periostin production was evaluated...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, pruritic, inflammatory dermatosis that affects up to 25% of children and 2% to 3% of adults. This guideline addresses important clinical questions that arise in the management and care of AD, providing updated and expanded recommendations based on the available evidence. In this first of 4 sections, methods for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease, outcomes measures for assessment, and common clinical associations that affect patients with AD are discussed. Known risk factors for the development of disease are also reviewed...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, chronic skin disorder that can significantly impact the quality of life of affected individuals as well as their families. Although the pathogenesis of the disorder is not completely understood, it appears to result from the complex interplay between defects in skin barrier function, environmental and infectious agents, and immune abnormalities. There are no specific diagnostic tests for AD; therefore, the diagnosis is based on specific clinical criteria that take into account the patient's history and clinical manifestations...

Atopic dermatis (AD) is a very common inflammatory skin disease in childhood. Various doctors such as paediatricians, general practitioners, allergologists and dermatologists are regularly consulted by these children and their parents, but there is no clear consensus on the diagnostic work-up that should be performed when evaluating a child with eczema. A careful history, clinical examination and adequate documentation of disease severity are essential in all children with eczema, irrespective of their disease severity...

There is no gold standard for a definite diagnosis of atopic dermatitis. For the time being, several lists of diagnostic criteria have been proposed, some of them in actual use. The Millennium Criteria have been proposed to diagnose atopic dermatitis and to differentiate it from atopiform dermatitis. Our aim was to further refine the Millennium Criteria into a manageable set that can differentiate between atopic and atopiform dermatitis and other entities. The hereby refined Millennium Criteria will be compared with the UK Working Party Criteria and the Hanifin & Rajka Criteria...

The past 2 decades have seen a heightened interest in atopic dermatitis-related research, leading to an exponential increase in publications. However, large numbers of diagnostic criteria and outcome measures hamper study comparability. The Harmonizing Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative addresses the urgent need for consensus, but more work will be required.

BACKGROUND: Surveys of the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) have been carried out world-wide, but the results vary widely. The differences probably result from the use of different diagnostic criteria. Williams et al. proposed minimum, simplified, diagnostic criteria that require no invasive test and are easy to use. Pilot studies in European countries showed their suitability for implementation both in hospitals and in the community, and their high sensitivity and specificity. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the potential practical value of the criteria of Williams et al...