We’ve all suffered from a bit of dry skin from time to time. Generally it’s easy to treat, a dollop of moisturiser will fix the problem and leave your skin feeling wonderfully silky-smooth. For sufferers of eczema this may not be enough and the condition could lead to them having to deal with constant outbreaks of dry and itchy skin. Though there are lots of treatments for the symptoms there’s no direct way of curing the condition and as such, eczema sufferers are rather stuck.
The cause of eczema is largely unclear but what is known is its connection with two similar conditions, those being asthma and hay-fever. Sufferers of any of these three may find that, if they suffer from a particularly bad bout of their condition they’ll contract one of the other two. So not only are you stuck with a nasty and incurable condition, there’s a chance of it morphing into something new and less pleasant. Great stuff.
Scientists have recently discovered what they think could be a genuine cause of eczema. Ctip2 is a protein which is found in our skin and regulates a lot of genetic functions. One of these functions is the suppression of TSLP a cytokine protein which is also produced in the skin and can cause inflammation if left unchecked. What the scientists have shown is that people with a Ctip2 deficiency may be more prone to eczema, meaning that the condition could have a genetic root.
What this research means right now is minimal, it’s always nice to know the cause of something but it doesn’t help anyone directly. What the research means for the future is much more profound, knowing the root of something means that you can target that root. Being able to attack a condition at its source means wiping it out without ever having to mess around with the symptoms. Things are looking up for sufferers of eczema!
Comments are closed.