It might be possible to develop a simple test to identify newborn children who are at risk of later developing atopic dermatitis (AD), according to findings from a Danish prospective birth cohort study.
In the study, the Barrier Dysfunction in Atopic Newborns Study (BABY), several biomarkers were found in the skin cells of newborns that were predictive not only for having AD but also for having more severe disease.
"We are able to identify predictive immune biomarkers of atopic dermatitis using a noninvasive method that was not associated with any pain," one of the study's investigators, Anne-Sofie Halling, MD, said at a press briefing at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2022 Annual Meeting.
"Importantly, we were able to predict atopic dermatitis occurring months after [sample] collection," said Halling, who works at Bispebjerg Hospital and is a PhD student at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
These findings could hopefully be used to help identify children "so that preventive strategies can target these children...and decrease the incidence of this common disease," she added.
AD is caused "by a complex interplay between skin barrier dysfunction and immune dysregulation," Halling said, and it is "the first step in the so-called atopic march, where children also develop food allergy, asthma, and rhinitis." Almost all cases of AD begin during the first years of life. Approximately 15% to 20% of children can be affected, she noted, emphasizing the high burden of the disease and pointing out that strategies are shifting toward trying to prevent the disease in those at risk.
