Atopic diathesisL20.9

Genetic disposition to the development of atopy. Probably there is not the "atopic gene". Rather, it can be assumed that the "atopic genes" belong to the general repertoire of the human genome. Environmental and other factors lead to overexpression of these genes and manifestation of atopic manifestations. Thus, the atopic type is to be conceived as an "atopic phenotype" rather than an "atopic genotype". A central aetiopathogenetic significance in the triggered inflammatory cascade is attributed to the production of Th2 cytokines (in contrast to psoriasis).

In clinical practical use, the use of an atopy score is important in order to obtain firm indications of atopic eczema.

The prevalence of atopic diseases is probably around 30%.

1. Arly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) Eczema Consortium; Australian Asthma Genetics Consortium(AAGC); Australian Asthma Genetics Consortium AAGC (2015)Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of 21,000 cases and 95,000 controls identifies new risk loci for atopic dermatitis. Nat Genet 47:1449-1456
2. Kumar A etg al. (2015) Genetic association of key Th1/Th2 pathway candidate genes, IRF2, IL6, IFNGR2, STAT4 and IL4RA, with atopic asthma in the Indian population. J Hum Genet 60:443-448
3. Marenholz I et al (2015) Meta-analysis identifies seven susceptibility loci involved in the atopic march. Nat Commun 6:8804
4. Skabytska Y et al (2015) The role of innate immune signaling in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and consequences for treatments. Semin Immunopathol PubMed PMID: 26573298.