Atopic Dermatitis: The Attack of Food Allergens

Abstract

Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial disease and hereditary, enviromental and immunological components are involved in its etiopathogenesis. Untill now, no specific skin signs, no diagnostic histologic features and no characteristic laboratory markers were described in AD. In the recent years considerable attention has been focused on the immunological abnormalities associated with AD and multiple and interrelated immune aberrations are reported. The aim of the present paper is to summarize the current knowledge on immunological abnormalities in AD. In addition, personal data on T-cell subsets and Poly Morphonuclear Neutrophils (PMN) chemotaxis in children suffering from severe AD and Hyper Immunoglobulnemia E syndrome ( HIES), will be reported. Although the investigations performed by many Authors and our results show a wide variety of different immunological abnormalities in AD, the biological significance of these abnormalities in relation to the pathogenesis of AD remains unclear.