Atopy and hyposomie

According to the traditional understanding small stature (body length < (x) over bar - 2s) and retardation of the skeleton of child patients with bron chial asthma or endogenous eczema are seen as a consequence of the particul ar basic disease. However, recent publications draw the attention to a caus al relevance of the super-ordinate atopic disposition. The fact that young atopic patients regardless of whether they became ill with asthma, eczema, or allergic rhinitis showed an increase double to triple the rate of small stature speaks for such a causal connection. Indications for this are resul ts that show that a retardation of the skeleton was marked significantly st ronger for boys with atopic asthma than for those with non-atopic asthma. T he fact that skeleton retardation of children with asthma similar to the as thma itself occurs twice as often with boys than with girls can be consider ed an indication of a common atopic cause. The scientific findings of the p athophysiological research are also speaking for the existence of atopic sk eleton retardation. The for the bone metabolism important local growth fact or PGE(2) for example belongs to the important mediators of the immediate o r late allergic reactions. The platelet-activating factor (PAF) on the othe r hand, as one of the strongest mediators in the pathogenesis of allergic d iseases, influences the PGE2 synthesis in the osteoblasts. Pathophysiologic al common features and overlaps of this kind, respectively, could certainly be the basis of a retardation of the skeleton and a small stature of child ren with an atopic disposition. For a validation of this hypothesis more re search in the field of the interaction of local and systemic growth factors in atopic individuals is necessary.