Eczema and other allergy disorders are multifactorial illnesses caused by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors. For a review, researchers discussed recent progress in identifying new susceptibility loci for eczema. Genome-wide association studies had made significant progress in elucidating the genetic underpinnings of allergy diseases. In the last four years, 14 novel eczema susceptibility loci were discovered, and virtually all of them were effectively duplicated. Seven more eczema loci were recently found using alternate methodologies that took use of the extraordinary overlap in the genetic etiology of several immune-related characteristics. These findings, in addition to emphasizing the role of the skin barrier in eczema pathogenesis, indicated particular immune activities that were disrupted in eczema etiology.
The new results showed that similar pathways play a role in the development of eczema and other immune-related characteristics. Furthermore, the genetic factors that are shared by eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinitis should contribute to resolving the molecular pathways that cause disease development along the atopic march. The primary issue for future studies will be identifying the underlying genes and causal variations.
