If you are among the 25% of the population suffering from eczema (also called atopic dermatitis), you may be interested to know about a new clinical study which could result in alternative therapies.
Medical wisdom currently theorizes that eczema is caused by “leaky” skin. Skin works like a barricade, protecting the body from the hundreds of allergens, irritants, pollutants and microbes we come in contact with every day. Eczema renders the topmost layer of the skin (called the stratum corneum) more permeable, allowing intruders — pollen, mold, pet dander, dust mites and others — to wreak havoc on the immune system, resulting in the characteristic dry, inflamed and itchy skin.
The new study supports this theory, but further indicates that dysfunction in intracellular structures called “tight junctions” are also to blame. (Dysfunction in tight junctions is a factor in inflammatory bowel disease and asthma.) In other words, both the stratum corneum and tight junctions need to be defective to cause eczema.
How will this affect the treatment for eczema? Currently, we tend to treat it symptomatically: physicians typically prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs and creams to treat the dry, red and itchy skin. These can be ineffective, expensive and have some negative side effects. A new treatment would focus on treating the skin barrier dysfunction.
One way this might be done is by increasing a protein called claudin-1 to decrease the body’s reaction to environmental allergens. Research continues with gene mapping of claudin-1 to try to identify mutations in patients with eczema. Perhaps in the near future there will be another way to treat sufferers of eczema.
