SERUM EOSINOPHIL CATIONIC PROTEIN (ECP) IS A SENSITIVE MEASURE FOR DISEASE-ACTIVITY IN ATOPIC-DERMATITIS

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is characterized by alterations in cellular and humoral immunity including elevated serum levels of IgE, IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP). In order to evaluate the relevance of these serum parameters as indicators of disease activity, the concentrations of IgE, IL-2R and ECP were measured in serum samples of patients with an acute exacerbation of AD (n = 19) on admission to hospital and every 6 days up to discharge, and compared with those from normal non-atopic controls (n = 15). The severity of the disease in the AD patients was examined using an established clinical scoring system. On admission, AD patients showed significantly elevated serum levels of IgE, IL-2R and ECP compared with normal controls (P less-than-or-equal-to 0.0001). Clinical improvement was associated with a decrease of both the clinical score (P less-than-or-equal-to 0.001) and serum ECP levels (P less-than-or-equal-to 0.005). No significant changes in serum IgE and serum IL-2R were observed. In addition, there was a significant correlation between serum ECP and the clinical score (R = 0.67, P less-than-or-equal-to 0.001). These data indicate that serum ECP may be a helpful tool for monitoring disease activity in AD.