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Atopic Dermatitis

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Filaggrin

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD; synonyms atopic eczema and eczema) is the commonest pediatric inflammatory skin disease, with considerable impact on children’s quality of life and costs to families and society at large. Dry, itchy skin is a cardinal feature, caused primarily by loss of integrity in the stratum corneum and an associated increase in transepidermal water loss (TEWL). The key gene involved in skin barrier function is the filaggrin gene (FLG), found in the epidermal differentiation complex on chromosome 1q21. We comprehensibly review the association between the inheritance of FLG mutations and AD from a clinical perspective – encompassing disease onset, chronicity, severity, association with other diseases including allergies, and gene-gene/environment interactions. Finally, we consider the therapeutic implications and the questions hitherto unanswered in this exciting field, which for the first time places the role of the skin barrier at center stage in the pathoetiology of AD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Core Medical Trainee/NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow, St John’s Institute of Dermatology, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7EH, UK

    Teresa Tsakok MA, BM, BCh (Oxon)

  2. Department of Paediatric Dermatology and Children’s Allergies, St. John’s Institute of Dermatology, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7EH, UK

    Carsten Flohr MD, MA, MPhil, MSc, PhD

Authors
  1. Teresa Tsakok MA, BM, BCh (Oxon)
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  2. Carsten Flohr MD, MA, MPhil, MSc, PhD
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Correspondence to Carsten Flohr MD, MA, MPhil, MSc, PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermato-Allergology, National Allergy Research Centre, Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Hellerup, Denmark

    Jacob P. Thyssen

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

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Tsakok, T., Flohr, C. (2014). Atopic Dermatitis. In: Thyssen, J., Maibach, H. (eds) Filaggrin. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54379-1_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54379-1_16

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