mySkin-omics
Research type
Research Study
Full title
mySkin-omics: a multi-centre, longitudinal, observational cohort study.
IRAS ID
336899
Contact name
Catherine Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
10 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Eczema is a debilitating long-term skin disease affecting 1 in 10 adults. People with eczema itch constantly and have inflamed skin, leading to low mood and poor quality-of-life, and sometimes major psychological and social disability. Therefore there is a need for prompt, effective and safe treatment.
Eczema is treated with traditional injections/tablets (e.g. methotrexate), ‘targeted’ drugs (e.g. dupilumab, a biologic) and inhibitors of JAK proteins. Response to treatment is variable: 6 in 10 people receiving dupilumab or JAK inhibitors fail to respond. Side-effects are unpredictable: 1 in 2 people taking dupilumab experience eye problems. We need to know which treatment is best and how these drugs work. This will help us to use them efficiently and design better treatments for the future. We also need to better understand factors that trigger the disease and fluctuations in severity, as these may enable disease modification and prevention.
mySkin-omics will collect clinical data and skin and blood samples to identify genetic and other markers (biomarkers) of treatment outcomes, disease severity and progression. This will enable us to identify individuals most likely to respond well to treatments, and to identify individuals more likely to develop severe eczema who require early treatment.
Another aim of the study is to make this information and any remaining samples available to the research community to understand the biology of inflammation in the skin and blood, and allow comparison with other events in other organs of the body and other diseases. This means this study will also contribute to vital research into health and disease more generally.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0361
Date of REC Opinion
19 Jun 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion