NCT01782703

Defining the Skin and Blood Biomarkers of Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis

Defining the Skin and Blood Biomarkers of Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis SUB-STUDY: Defining the Predictive Non-Invasive Biomarkers for Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis (Funded by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 505 (actual)
• Sponsor: Northwestern University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 0 Months – 17 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as eczema, is the most common inflammatory skin disorder of children, affecting 10-20% of children and 1-2% of adults. This skin disorder can be associated with unbearable itchiness and an increased susceptibility to skin infections. The cause of AD is currently poorly understood; therefore, there are no targeted treatment options at present. There have been recent studies in adults with AD that explain the cause and give us new routes to investigate treatment options, however no major studies in this arena have been done in children. We hope to evaluate the skin and blood biomarkers that are found in pediatric AD and compare them to adult AD. Hypothesis: The immune system worsens the skin barrier issues that are common in atopic dermatitis. We believe there are similar immune and skin abnormalities in adult versus pediatric atopic dermatitis. Finally, blood levels of the activated molecules in atopic dermatitis can serve as surrogates for skin immune activation and will correlate with disease severity.

Detailed description

Objectives: 1. To define the cellular and molecular biomarkers of atopic dermatitis in skin biopsies and blood samples from a pre-adolescent pediatric population and correlate it with disease severity. 2. To measure the skin barrier in atopic dermatitis. 3. To determine quality of life in atopic dermatitis through various questionnaires. Objectives for the non-invasive biomarkers sub-study: 1. Develop a panel of non-invasive biomarkers in tape strips and serum. 2. Correlate mRNA expression from tape-striped skin with individual markers of severity (EASI, SCORAD, pruritus and TEWL). 3. Correlate mRNA markers in blood with severity scores. 4. Correlate serum protein markers with severity scores. 5. Compare biomarkers based on patient age. 6. Correlate the biomarker candidates from tape strips and blood with the "gold standard" set of biomarkers derived from age-matched skin biopsy samples

Conditions

• Atopic Dermatitis
• Eczema

Timeline

• Start date: 2013-01-01
• Primary completion: 2025-12-01
• Completion: 2025-12-01
• First posted: 2013-02-04
• Last updated: 2025-04-27

Locations

4 sites across 1 country: United States