Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic and recurrent skin disease. It is important that allergic diseases occur among people with a genetic predisposition. The aim of the article was to present basic knowledge about this disease, factors aggravating its course and the ability of medics to identify and eliminate causal factors because effective treatment of this chronic disease depends on the understanding of the disease’s nature. It is believed that the increase in the incidence of allergies is also connected with the so-called “western lifestyle”. Psychosomatic factors may intensify disease symptoms. Great importance in the formation of atopic dermatitis and provoking exacerbations of symptoms is attributed to environmental factors, which include climatic conditions. These conditions directly affect the skin-epidermal barrier via temperature, degree of humidity or sunlight. A significant role is also attributed to environmental pollution. Climatic conditions affect the development of potential allergens. There are also reports in the literature about the coexistence of gluten-dependent enteropathy among patients with atopic dermatitis. Moreover, there are grounds to introduce an antihistamine diet because histamine is important in the pathomechanism of itching. In-depth assessment of children with AD can be a helpful weapon in the fig ht against the disease. Appropriate diet of people with AD can be an important element of therapy
The skin of persons with atopic dermatitis (AD) is very susceptible to cutaneous infection, and some yeast species may also aggravate AD. The total yeast population of an AD patient’s skin and its relation with individual age and body part remains poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to clarify the differences in cutaneous yeast flora by age and body parts of AD patients. By swabbing affected body parts (hands, legs, face, neck or trunk), 241 samples were collected from patients with AD (132 children and 109 adults), and as controls, 40 samples were taken from healthy individuals (20 children, 20 adults). In all, 89 (36.9%) of samples were positive; the yeast isolated belonged to three genera: Candida (27.4%), Malassezia (6.6%), and Rhodotorula (2.9%). Cutaneous colonization with yeasts was two-fold higher in the adults than in children (P<0.0001). The distribution of the yeast species was dependent on the body part sampled: Malassezia predominated in the face, neck, and trunk regions (P=0.0047); Candida more frequently colonized hands and legs (P=0.0029). Our study showed that cutaneous yeast flora and distribution of yeast species depends significantly on the age of the AD patient and the body part affected by atopic dermatitis.
Atopic dermatitis is characterized by impaired skin and mucous membrane barrier function. Measures improving barrier integrity decrease the influence of environmental factors that might exacerbate inflammation. Ten adult patients with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis consumed for three months fermented with potent antioxidative probiotic, L. fermentum ME-3 (DSM 14241) goat milk 200 mg/day. A control group consisted of six patients, not supplemented by probiotic. All patients used emollients regularly. Skin iron levels, glutathione redox ratios (GSSG/GSH), diene conjugate (DC) amounts, blood glutathione status, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), and total antioxidativity was measured at the baseline and after three months. A significant decrease in skin iron levels, DC amounts, and glutathione redox ratio occurred in the probiotic-supplemented group compared to the control group (P < 0.05 for all indices). In the same group, blood levels of oxLDL decreased (p < 0.05), and GSH levels increased (P < 0.001) with concomitant improvement in the GSSG/GSH ratio. Blood antioxidativity markers also showed an improvement. The results of our study demonstrate that regular use of probiotics with antioxidative properties coupled with the use of lipid-containing emollients considerably decreases inflammation and concomitant oxidative stress in adult patients with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis. This effect was observed both in the skin and in the blood.
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