The Etiology of Atopic Dermatitis by Herbert B. Allen

Author:Herbert B. Allen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer London, London

6. Physiology

Herbert B. Allen1

(1)Department of Dermatology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract

Two major physiological events in eczema include transepidermal water loss owing to the loss of the stratum corneum, and occlusion of the sweat ducts, which leads to decreased sweat on the skin surface. Sulzberger noted occluded sweat ducts in atopic eczema in 1947. The observations that people with atopy do not sweat normally and that they will then suffer the effects of heat prostration combine with the clinical observation (and patient historical data) that sweating makes eczema worse. We propose that atopic dermatitis results from subclinical miliaria, which involves occlusion of sweat ducts. The difference in miliaria and eczema is found within the genetic part of the double-hit phenomenon. Once a patient begins scratching a genetically deficient stratum corneum, the disease process becomes ongoing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.