A Role of Staphylococcus aureus, Nerve Growth Factor and Semaphorin 3A, an Axon Guidance Molecule, in Pathogenesis and Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract

It is well known that the water content and barrier function of the horny layer are decreased in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), because the conductance of skin surface decreases and the transepidermal water loss (TEWL) increases. To examine the usefulness of these measurements for early diagnosis of AD, we measured the conductance and TEWL on the medical examination of infants and revealed that the TEWL in the uninvolved skin of abdomen significantly increased in infants with AD already as early as 6 months and 1.5 years old as compared with that in infants without AD. Accordingly, the measurement of TEWL in the skin is useful for early diagnosis of infantile AD and the early care on the skin of these infants might be expected to effect protectively on development and aggravation of AD.