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Atopic Dermatitis 2.0: the Long and Tedious Road to Precision Medicine

  • Atopic Dermatitis (T Bieber, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of the Review

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a paradigmatic complex disease. It displays a large spectrum in the clinical spectrum which mirrors a highly complex genetic background and immunological mechanisms. It is therefore an ideal candidate for a precision medicine approach. The implementation of precision medicine for AD is a complex development process involving numerous stakeholders. This review will concentrate on aspects of precision medicine which are of interest for the practicing physicians taking care of patients suffering from AD.

Recent Findings

The aim of precision medicine is to provide a tailored answer for prevention and newly developed treatment to ideally homogeneous subgroups of patients with AD identified on the basis of validated biomarkers. Biomarker discovery is dependent on the availability of high quality data and biobanks linked to systems biological approach. As an example, the selection of newborns with high risk to develop AD based on simple measurements opens new avenues in the prevention of this condition which represents the first step to the so-called atopic march.

Summary

The implementation of precision medicine in AD represents a long and tedious road but will ultimately provide a substantial improvement in its management.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

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Acknowledgments

Thomas Bieber is supported by the Christine Kühne-Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology and Allergy, University Medical Center, Bonn, Germany

    Thomas Bieber

  2. Christine Kühne-Center for Allergy Research and Education, University Medical Center, Bonn, Germany

    Thomas Bieber

  3. Center for Translational Medicine, University Medical Center, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany

    Thomas Bieber

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  1. Thomas Bieber
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Correspondence to Thomas Bieber.

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The author has no relevant conflict of interest for this article.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Atopic Dermatitis

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Bieber, T. Atopic Dermatitis 2.0: the Long and Tedious Road to Precision Medicine. Curr Derm Rep 6, 144–148 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13671-017-0172-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13671-017-0172-y

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