These chronic inflammatory skin conditions can be very similar in appearance, so in the past, dermatologists had to make judgment calls based on a combination of instincts and tissue samples. The researchers, from Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich, decided that just wasn’t good enough. “A precise diagnosis is very important, as many specific therapies on the market only improve one of the two diseases,” says Kilian Eyerich, PhD, study author and professor at Helmholtz Zentrum München. By recruiting 24 subjects who were dealing with psoriasis and eczema simultaneously and analyzing both conditions at a molecular level, they were able to identify two genes that separated them, and develop a test based on the genes. Even better news: “We’re only a short time away from establishing a kit for testing,” Eyerich. Their findings may even hold greater promise for treating inflammatory skin problems in the future. “Once the scientific community has gained enough data, it might be possible to predict the optimal therapy for each individual patient based on his or her molecular signature.”
