Investigation of Eczema in children

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A study to investigate eczema in milk-allergic children.

• IRAS ID

  239184

• Contact name

  Michael Ardern-Jones

• Contact email

  m.aj@soton.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  4 years, 11 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  Atopic eczema (AE) is an inflammatory skin disorder which is closely associated with food allergies. Atopic eczema is most commonly identified in the young paediatric population. In children with atopic eczema, there is usually a defect in the skin barrier function. This makes them more susceptible to skin infections and to entry of allergens (substances which trigger an allergic reaction) which can worsen their eczema.
  
  Food allergies may play an important role in modulating skin inflammation in AE (severity of eczema can worsen after exposure to specific foods). However, it is currently difficult to establish which children have eczema worsened by food due to inadequacy of available tests in predicting who will benefit from dietary avoidance. The best test is dietary exclusion of the suspected food and then re-introduction to measure the food-induced impact on the child's eczema. Unfortunately, this is a challenging process for parents due to the length of time before an answer is provided and the number of potential foods which may be implicated. Therefore, a test system to identify potential food causes of eczema flares would be very valuable.

  In a previous study it was demonstrated that milk-specific T cell responses occurring in adults with AE were different to those occurring in controls. This project aims to establish whether a similar response can be identified in milk-allergic children with AE. This research may contribute to a test by which we could identify children with AE who would benefit from dietary avoidance prior to a dietary change being made.

• REC name

  South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  18/SC/0289

• Date of REC Opinion

  21 Jun 2018

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion