Eczema Patients Lack Natural Antibiotic In Skin
Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center report in
the October 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that
patients with atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, are
susceptible to bacterial infections of their skin because they fail
to produce effective amounts of two antimicrobial peptides. The
findings demonstrate for the first time the clinical significance of
these peptides in humans, and suggest that a medication containing or
inducing the peptides may one day be used to fight the infections
that plague millions of atopic dermatitis patients. The accompanying
editorial in the journal called it a "seminal study."
"This study helps explain why 90 percent of atopic dermatitis
patients are colonized by staphylococcus aureus and 30 percent
develop active infections," said the study’s senior author, Donald
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