Miaow
17-10-2006, 12:53
This was on the paper's website today and I thought people would be interested in reading it
Study ditches eczema theory
Michelle Pountney, health reporter
October 17, 2006 12:00am
SCIENTISTS have discovered the real reason eczema leaves its victims red and itchy.
One in three Australians knows the pain and discomfort of eczema.
Scientists have overturned their previous theories on the cause of the debilitating skin condition.
An international study has discovered a defective skin barrier is the main cause of eczema -- not the immune system as previously thought.
The finding could have big implications on treatment for the skin condition which leaves its sufferers with red, dry, itchy and scaly skin.
In severe cases the skin may weep, bleed and crust over.
Royal Children's Hospital dermatologist Dr John Su said global studies had revealed that something other than an allergic reaction probably triggered mild to moderate eczema.
"This new report showed that up to 66 per cent of children with mild to moderate eczema did not actually have raised allergic antibodies," Dr Su said.
"Rather, a key factor in developing eczema is the structure of the skin barrier and the integrity of the cell's lipids and binders.
"We now believe that tiny cracks in the skin barrier predispose some people to eczema."
The research, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, also found the global prevalence of eczema had increased from 4 per cent of the population in the 1940s to more than 25 per cent today.
With more than a million sufferers, Australia has one of the highest incidences of eczema around the world -- about 33 per cent.
About 60 per cent of people with eczema develop the disease in their first year of life and 90 per cent have experienced symptoms before the age of five.
Armed with the new knowledge, scientists are working to identify genes related to the skin barrier and what causes the skin barrier to break down, including environmental factors.
Defective genes can affect normal skin functions such as shedding of dead skin and replacement with new skin.
"People prone to eczema have a much thinner skin barrier than people with normal skin and this can be seen under a microscope even if they do not have obvious eczema lesions," Dr Su said.
The thin skin barrier makes people more susceptible to suffering eczema, flares or lesions when combined with exposure to environmental irritants such as soaps and detergents.
When an eczema flare-up occurs the skin is also susceptible to infection.
Once a flare occurs, the inflamed cells produce further degrading substances which compound the breakdown of the skin barrier.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20592655-24331,00.html
Study ditches eczema theory
Michelle Pountney, health reporter
October 17, 2006 12:00am
SCIENTISTS have discovered the real reason eczema leaves its victims red and itchy.
One in three Australians knows the pain and discomfort of eczema.
Scientists have overturned their previous theories on the cause of the debilitating skin condition.
An international study has discovered a defective skin barrier is the main cause of eczema -- not the immune system as previously thought.
The finding could have big implications on treatment for the skin condition which leaves its sufferers with red, dry, itchy and scaly skin.
In severe cases the skin may weep, bleed and crust over.
Royal Children's Hospital dermatologist Dr John Su said global studies had revealed that something other than an allergic reaction probably triggered mild to moderate eczema.
"This new report showed that up to 66 per cent of children with mild to moderate eczema did not actually have raised allergic antibodies," Dr Su said.
"Rather, a key factor in developing eczema is the structure of the skin barrier and the integrity of the cell's lipids and binders.
"We now believe that tiny cracks in the skin barrier predispose some people to eczema."
The research, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, also found the global prevalence of eczema had increased from 4 per cent of the population in the 1940s to more than 25 per cent today.
With more than a million sufferers, Australia has one of the highest incidences of eczema around the world -- about 33 per cent.
About 60 per cent of people with eczema develop the disease in their first year of life and 90 per cent have experienced symptoms before the age of five.
Armed with the new knowledge, scientists are working to identify genes related to the skin barrier and what causes the skin barrier to break down, including environmental factors.
Defective genes can affect normal skin functions such as shedding of dead skin and replacement with new skin.
"People prone to eczema have a much thinner skin barrier than people with normal skin and this can be seen under a microscope even if they do not have obvious eczema lesions," Dr Su said.
The thin skin barrier makes people more susceptible to suffering eczema, flares or lesions when combined with exposure to environmental irritants such as soaps and detergents.
When an eczema flare-up occurs the skin is also susceptible to infection.
Once a flare occurs, the inflamed cells produce further degrading substances which compound the breakdown of the skin barrier.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20592655-24331,00.html