What is involved in the study?
For AD (Eczema patients):
We will sample your child's skin at three different time points.
- Baseline
- Flare
- Post-flare
We will work with you and your child on the timing and scheduling of your study visits.
For Healthy Children Without Eczema : (Age-Matched Controls or siblings):
When possible, we will sample your child's skin at three different time points to closely match the sampling visits of AD patients as above.
For HIES/WAS/DOCK8 patients:
We will sample the skin of children who are diagnosed with HIES/WAS. We will work with you and your child in scheduling study visits.
Who can participate?
Children between the ages of 2 and 12 years with a diagnosis of moderate to severe AD (eczema) who are willing to travel to the NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Md. Healthy children without eczema or asthma or siblings of children with AD may qualify.
Healthy children WITHOUT eczema or asthma, or siblings of children with eczema, who are within several years of each other that do not have eczema or asthma, may qualify for study.
What are the possible benefits of joining the study?
While participation in the study may not directly benefit your child, we hope that what we learn from this study will benefit patients with skin and other immune diseases in the future.
Does skin sampling through skin swabs or scrapes hurt?
There is no pain. Swabs involve rubbing the skin with a sponge "Q-tip." Scrapes are equivalent to a light scratch with a fingernail.
What are the possible risks of joining the study?
The risks involved in joining this study are very minor or very rare.
Privacy issues:
The study team will use codes for your child's information. Only approved researchers will be able to look at this information.
The private medical information of our participants is protected through a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. This Certificate prohibits the disclosure of any information that may identify study patients, by any court subpoena, in any federal, state, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceedings.
A Certificate of Confidentiality does not prevent you, your child or a family member from voluntarily releasing information about study participation. The NIH may not use the Certificate to withhold that information if written consent has been given to receive research/personal health information.
Is there compensation for joining the study?
Eligible children will be compensated in accordance with NIH policy.
Can my child withdraw from the study at anytime? What about if he/she changes his/her mind about participating?
Your child may stop participation in this study at any time.
