What all these new genetic variants have in common is a role in regulating our immune system, which means they highlight potential new targets for therapeutic research for eczema.
The researchers also found some evidence of genetic overlap between eczema and other diseases like inflammatory bowel disease. This suggests that studying these diseases together in the future could give important insights into the mechanisms of disease and potentially identify new treatments.
The Trinity group involved in this research is led by Professor of Dermatology in the School of Medicine, Dr Alan Irvine.
He said: “These new findings, gained through international collaboration with hundreds of thousands of patients in multiple countries show the importance of genes in both the immune system and the skin barrier in the causation of eczema.”
Dr Paternoster of Bristol University added: “Though the genetic variants identified in this current study represent only a small proportion of the risk for developing eczema (they are in no way deterministic, rather they slightly increase your risk), they do give new insights into important disease mechanisms and through on-going research in this area these findings could be turned into treatments of the future.”
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Irish Daily Mirror
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