Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Atopic Dermatitis

  • Living reference work entry
  • Latest version View entry history
  • First Online:
Compendium of Inflammatory Diseases

  • 84 Accesses

Synonyms

Atopic eczema

Dermatitis and eczema are often used interchangeably. Eczema is a skin inflammation that presents with various clinical manifestations, such as erythematous macules, papules, and vesicles, which can merge to form patches and plaques (Leslie et al. 2012).

Definition

The term “dermatitis” means inflammation of the skin and “atopic” means a tendency to develop allergic hypersensitivity. Therefore, atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by very itchy skin lesions, disrupted skin barrier function, dysregulation of the immune system, and possibly allergic reactions to food and environmental allergens (Misery 2011). It is not contagious and usually has a recurring period of relapses and remissions. Most AD patients have a personal or family history of atopy (allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, AD, and asthma). AD generally occurs in early childhood with very itchy skin. Scratching at the itchy area leads to redness,...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aideen, B., & Donald, L. (2011). Immunology of atopic dermatitis. In A. Irvine, P. Hoeger, & A. Yan (Eds.), Harper’s textbook of pediatric dermatology (3rd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, E., Cohen, N., & Archer, B. (2012). Guidance on the diagnosis and clinical management of atopic eczema. Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 37(Suppl 1), 7–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boguniewicz, M., & Leung, D. Y. (2011). Atopic dermatitis: A disease of altered skin barrier and immune dysregulation. Immunological Reviews, 242, 233–246.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Carsten, F., & Hywel, W. (2011). Epidemiology of atopic dermatitis. In A. Irvine, P. Hoeger, & A. Yan (Eds.), Harper’s textbook of pediatric dermatology (3rd ed.). Hoboken: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clive, A. (2011). Immunopharmacological mechanisms in atopic dermatitis. In A. Irvine, P. Hoeger, & A. Yan (Eds.), Harper’s textbook of pediatric dermatology (3rd ed.). Hoboken: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donald, L., Lawrence, E., & Mark, B. (2012). Atopic dermatitis (atopic eczema). In G. Lowell, K. Stephen, G. Barbara, P. Amy, L. David, & W. Klaus (Eds.), Fitzpatrick’s dermatology in general medicine (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Incorvaia, C., Frati, F., Verna, N., et al. (2008). Allergy and the skin. Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 153(Suppl 1), 27–29.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Katayama, I., Kohno, Y., Akiyama, K., et al. (2011). Japanese guideline for atopic dermatitis. Allergology International, 60, 205–220.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, L., Calvin, M., & Thomas, L. (2012). Eczema, psoriasis, cutaneous infections, acne, and other common skin disorders. In L. Dan, F. Anthony, K. Dennis, H. Stephen, & L. Joseph (Eds.), Harrison’s principles of internal medicine (18th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meurer, M., Folster-Holst, R., Wozel, G., et al. (2002). Pimecrolimus cream in the long-term management of atopic dermatitis in adults: A six-month study. Dermatology, 205, 271–277.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Misery, L. (2011). Atopic dermatitis: New trends and perspectives. Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology, 41, 296–297.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nizet, V., Ohtake, T., Lauth, X., et al. (2001). Innate antimicrobial peptide protects the skin from invasive bacterial infection. Nature, 414, 454–457.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Novak, N., & Simon, D. (2011). Atopic dermatitis – From new pathophysiologic insights to individualized therapy. Allergy, 66, 830–839.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, S., Kellberger, J., Vogelberg, C., et al. (2010). Prediction of the incidence, recurrence, and persistence of atopic dermatitis in adolescence: A prospective cohort study. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 126, 590–595, e591–593.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reitamo, S., Wollenberg, A., Schopf, E., et al. (2000). Safety and efficacy of 1 year of tacrolimus ointment monotherapy in adults with atopic dermatitis. The European Tacrolimus Ointment Study Group. Archives of Dermatology, 136, 999–1006.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ronina, C., David, F., & Mark, B. (2011). Allergic disorders. In H. William, L. Myron, S. Judith, & D. Robin (Eds.), Current diagnosis & treatment: pediatrics. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, F. (1993). Atopic dermatitis: A genetic-epidemiologic study in a population-based twin sample. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 28, 719–723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, E., Currie, P., Koudelka, W., et al. (2011). Eczema prevalence in the United States: Data from the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 131, 67–73.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Stephan, W., & Alan, I. (2011). Genetics of atopic dermatitis. In A. Irvine, P. Hoeger, & A. Yan (Eds.), Harper’s textbook of pediatric dermatology (3rd ed.). Hoboken: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, H. (2010). Atopic dermatitis. In Clinical dermatology a color guide to diagnosis and therapy, 5th edn. Mosby: Elsevier Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. (2005). Clinical practice. Atopic dermatitis. New England Journal of Medicine, 352, 2314–2324.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, F. (2012). Thymic stromal lymphopoietin and allergic disease. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 130, 845–852.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave. Fegan 7, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Watcharoot Kanchongkittiphon & Wanda Phipatanakul

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Watcharoot Kanchongkittiphon & Wanda Phipatanakul

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand

    Watcharoot Kanchongkittiphon

Authors
  1. Watcharoot Kanchongkittiphon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wanda Phipatanakul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wanda Phipatanakul .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst of Clinical Pharmacology Haus 74/75, JW Goethe University Frankfurt Fraunhofer IME, Frankfurt, Germany

    Michael J. Parnham

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Basel

About this entry

Cite this entry

Kanchongkittiphon, W., Phipatanakul, W. (2016). Atopic Dermatitis. In: Parnham, M. (eds) Compendium of Inflammatory Diseases. Birkhäuser, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-0620-6_75-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-0620-6_75-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Basel

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-0620-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Atopic Dermatitis
    Published:
    21 April 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-0620-6_75-2

  2. Original

    Atopic Dermatitis
    Published:
    04 February 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-0620-6_75-1

Search

Navigation