Little is known about the prevalence of atopic dermatitis and food allergy outside North America and Europe. We evaluated the prevalence of atopic dermatitis and food allergy with the comparison of prevalence between 1995 and 2000 in Korea and evaluated the correlation of prevalence between atopic dermatitis and food allergy. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on random sample...

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder, for which it is difficult to obtain epidemiologic findings. In a previous study, we suggested the following diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis in the adult Thai population: visible flexural dermatitis, a history of flexural dermatitis, a rash of more than six months duration and visible dry skin. However these criteria were not v...

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MBT) infection and atopic rhinitis in children recruited from a community with high incidence of MTB infections. The children were assessed for rhinitis according to the ISAAC questionnaire and tested for MTB infection by the tuberculin skin test (TST). Allergen-specific IgE sensitizations were tested b...

BACKGROUND The indirect basophil activation test using flow cytometry is a promising tool for autoimmune urticaria diagnosis. We aimed to identify better donor basophils (from atopic vs. non-atopic donors and interleukin-3 primed vs. unprimed basophils) and improve basophil identification and activation markers (eotaxin CC chemokine receptor-3 [CCR3] vs. CD123 and CD63 vs. CD203c). METHODS Do...

PURPOSE The role of systemic sensitization in the pathophysiology of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) remains elusive. This study sought to characterize the pattern of cytokines in polyp tissues from atopic and nonatopic patients with CRSwNP. METHODS Atopic and nonatopic polyp and normal tissues were collected from 70 CRSwNP patients and 26 control subjects, respectively. The...

BACKGROUND Atopic allergy is much more common in Finnish compared with Russian Karelia, although these areas are geographically and genetically close. To explore the role of environmental chemicals on the atopy difference a random sample of 200 individuals, 25 atopic and 25 non-atopic school-aged children and their mothers, were studied. Atopy was defined as having at least one positive skin pr...

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition including severe pruritus, xerosis, visible eczematous skin lesions that mainly begin early in life. Atopic dermatitis exerts a profound impact on the quality of life of patients and their families. The estimated lifetime prevalence of atopic dermatitis has increased 2~3 fold during over the past 30 years, especially in urban areas in i...

Background: Lichen simplex chronicus (LSC), nodular prurigo (NP), and neurotic excoriation (NE) are considered as psychogenic pruritus disorders. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is also classified by some as a psychocutaneous disorder to point out the influence of psychologic factors in its recurrence, persistence and precipitation. AD and psychogenic pruritus share many common features including ...

………………………………………………………………………. . 1 LIST OF ORIGINAL PAPERS …………………………………………………... . 3 ABBREVIATIONS ……………………………………………………………….. 4 DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS ……………………………………….... 5 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………..... 7 The Atopic March ………………………………………………............... 8 Risk factors in atopic disease ………………………………………….. 8 Prevention of atopic disease ……………………………………………10 Eczema ……………………………………...

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by impaired epidermal barrier function, inflammatory infiltration, extensive pruritus and a clinical course defined by symptomatic flares and remissions. The mechanisms of disease exacerbation are still poorly understood. Clinical occurrence of atopic dermatitis is often associated with psychological stress. In response to s...