A whopping 1 in 5 children suffers from atopic eczema and for half of those children, it is a skin condition that can last for life. However, a new vaccine could soon be in development.
This is thanks to a team of researchers from Trinity College Dublin who have identified how flare-ups of bacteria-driven eczema impact a person's immune system. Discovering how a person's T cells – cells that normally drive an effective immune response – can be suppressed by the skin condition, the scientists believe a targeted vaccine is now possible.
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Eczema, while not life-threatening or contagious, can cause serious discomfort, especially in our younger years. Common symptoms can include itchy and dry skin and, when bacteria are involved, weeping wounds that can lead to serious infections.
“There is a real need for new options to treat and prevent infected flares of eczema in children. Current strategies are limited in their success and, even when they do provide relief, the effects may be short-term as symptoms return,” said Dr Julianne Clowry, lead author of the study and consultant dermatologist.
“Although antibiotics are needed in some cases, scientists are trying hard to deliver alternative options due to the growing problems posed by antimicrobial resistance.”
All of these factors combined make a vaccine-based solution seem particularly promising. Along with being able to bolster a person's immune system and limit the severity of eczema, it could also lead to better long-lasting outcomes, as well as reducing the need for antibiotics.
The team of researchers also believe that the vaccine could limit the complications and development of other atopic diseases, such as hay fever and asthma. These diseases have a close relation to eczema, with all three often occurring together.
Combining researchers from medical, computer science and statistics departments, as well as biochemistry and immunology, this large team of Trinity College researchers discovered 'immune signatures' in children with infected flares of eczema. These immune weaknesses are often critical to a vaccine design.
The research examined a total of 93 children aged between 0 and 16, comparing immune responses between three groups: eczema with a skin infection, eczema with no infection and a healthy group of volunteers.
The main discovery was that the proportions of certain immune cells known as T Cells, as well as other biomarkers, changed noticeably between the groups. Flare-ups of eczema appeared to suppress important T cells that would normally drive an immune response.
“Further work is now required to broaden the scope of these results, by expanding to a larger number of people. This will help confirm if the patterns identified are consistent among different age groups, and in sub-groups with greater ethnic diversity,” says Alan Irvine, professor of dermatology at Trinity.
“We believe that a more comprehensive understanding of the immune response to this bacteria in eczema has significant potential to revolutionise treatment approaches.”
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