Atopic Dermatitis-Current Research esearch on atopic dermatitis is active. Some promising avenues of research are described below. Although atopic dermatitis runs in families, the role of genetics remains unclear. It does appear that more than one gene is involved in the development of the disease. Researchers suspect that atopic dermatitis may be caused by environmental factors acting in people who are genetically predisposed to the disease.
Research has helped shed light on the patterns of inheritance of atopic dermatitis.
Studies show that children are at increased risk for developing the disorder if there is a family history of other atopic disease, such as hay fever or asthma. The risk is significantly higher if both parents have an atopic disease. In addition, studies of identical twins, who have the exact same genes, show that in an estimated 80 to 90 percent of cases, if one twin has an atopic disease, the other does also. These findings suggest that genes play an important role in determining who gets the disease. Scientists suspect that changes in the skin's protective barrier make people with atopic dermatitis more sensitive to irritants.