A family study of genes in atopic dermatitis.

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/241950

Funding Status
Closed

Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the .

Funded Activity Summary

Atopic dermatitis (AD) or atopic eczema is the third condition making up the atopic triad (asthma, hayfever and eczema). It usually has its onset before two years of age. It is common, affecting approximately 10% of Australian children and 7% of Australian adults, and is increasing in prevalence. As with asthma, genes are known to be important in its causation, and several different genes have been reported to be involved by different investigators. These findings are not always repeatable in different countries or ethnic groups. One, the mast cell chymase gene seems to be associated with AD in Japan, but not in Australia or Italy. However, this gene may be responsible only for AD where total serum Immunoglobulin E is low, roughly 20% of all AD. Therefore, the previous studies may not have included enough cases of this subtype to reliably detect the association. The present study aims to test all the published genes in two panels of families: one where both AD and asthma or hayfever are present in the family (180 families), the second where AD alone is present (100 families). We will also test for genetic linkage to particular regions of the genome, where the specific gene is yet to be identified, and for newly discovered gene variants in these regions that may be associated with AD. Confirming and refining the nature of genes involved in the causation of AD is useful for the basic understanding of biochemical pathways to disease and ultimately to the design of drugs to interfere with these pathways.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2003

End Date: 01-01-2005

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $409,700.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Anaesthesiology

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Atopic dermatitis | Atopy | Dermatology | Genetic association | Genetic linkage | Genetics of complex disease | Twins

Related Links