Scientists believe that a sticky tape skin test can predict whether or not a newborn would develop severe eczema.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen used it to take painless skin samples from infants at the age of two months and analyze them.
They found detectable immunological biomarker alterations in cells at higher risk for developing eczema.
To avoid unpleasant flare-ups, they recommend starting newborns at high risk on a skin cream as soon as possible.
Children with high amounts of Thymus and Activation-Regulated Chemokine in their skin cells were shown to have a higher than the twofold increased chance of having atopic eczema by the age of two compared to other newborns.
The researchers gathered sticky tape samples from a total of 450 newborns.
Their work, which will be presented at the 31st European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress, was supported by the Lundbeck Foundation.
Dr. Anne-Sofie Halling, the main investigator from the Bispebjerg Hospital at the University of Copenhagen, said, “To our knowledge, this is the first to indicate that non-invasively obtained skin biomarkers may be used to predict the eventual incidence and severity of juvenile atopic eczema.”
She suggests that there is a “window of opportunity” during the first few months of life to reduce the risk of atopic eczema.
Moreover, it was around this age that we were able to pinpoint immunological and lipid indicators that foretold the onset of atopic eczema.
In order to avoid future occurrences of atopic eczema, “our results of predictive immunological and lipid biomarkers gathered at two months of age can assist identify children at highest risk of atopic dermatitis utilizing a non-invasive and painless manner.”