Psychobiological aspects of atopic dermatitis: An overview

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, pruritic inflammatory skin disease wit h increasing incidence characterized by eczematous inflammation of the skin , a chronically relapsing course and severe pruritus. In the last decade, t here has been growing evidence indicating that psychological factors such a s personality and stress may play an important role in the pathogenesis of AD. While there is only little consensus on an AD-specific personality prof ile and its etiological significance, a growing number of reports support t he role of psychosocial stress in the onset and the course of AD symptomato logy. However, although a close association between psychosocial stress and skin condition in AD patients has been demonstrated by several investigato rs, pathological models that integrate stress and its effect on atopy-relev ant biological processes, e.g. immune processes, are still missing. This ov erview summarizes the role of immunological and psychological factors in AD pathogenesis and discusses potential psychobiological pathways of stress-r elated modulation of AD symptoms. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.