Scientists dig into skin bugs to unlock eczema secrets
NCT ID NCT00605878
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 14 times
Summary
This study looks at the tiny organisms living on our skin—like bacteria and fungi—and how they might differ in people with eczema (atopic dermatitis). Researchers will collect skin samples from healthy volunteers and patients aged 2 to 40 with moderate to severe eczema, as well as those with certain immune disorders. The goal is to understand how these microbes affect skin health and disease, which could lead to better treatments in the future.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 530 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2008
- Lead sponsor
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A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Healthy (adult) volunteers AD patients Healthy (pediatric) controls Patients diagnosed with the primary immunodeficiency hyperIgE syndrome (HIES) Patients diagnosed with the primary immunodeficiency Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) Patients diagnosed with the combined immunodeficiency associated with DOCK8 mutation (DOCK8)
- Ages
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2 to 100 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
* INCLUSION CRITERIA: Inclusion Criteria for all groups Must have a primary care professional who will continue standard of care/evaluation in tandem with the protocol to whom information and recommendations can be communicated. Inclusion Criteria for Group 1: Healthy Volunteers Adult males or females aged 18-50 at time of enrollment. Inclusion Criteria for Group 2: AD patients A. Confirmed diagnosis of AD (UK Working Party s Diagnostic Criteria)24 B. Moderate to severe AD SCORAD greater than or equal to 25(25) C. Greater than or equal to 1 affected antecubital (or popliteal) fossae at time of enrollment to serve as a target site. Inclusion Criteria for Group 3: Healthy (pediatric) Controls A. Males or females 2-18 years of age. Inclusion Criteria for Groups 4, 5, \& 6: AD/HIES/WAS/DOCK8 patients A. Must have mutation-proven diagnosis, with or without eczematous dermatitis. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Exclusion Criteria for all groups: 1. Any subjects receiving or planning to receive an IND agent, ultraviolet light therapy, monoclonal antibodies, or systemic immunosuppressants \< 7 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is the longer time period) of initiating this protocol. 2. Any subjects who have cancer, and are currently or have previously received treatment with chemotherapy or radiation for treatment of malignancies within the previous 6 months. 3. Any subject with a history of bone marrow transplant or gene therapy. Exclusion Criteria specific for Group 2: AD patients A. Unable to remain off systemic (oral) antibiotics or systemic (oral) steroids for at least 7 days prior to body site sampling. Unable to temporarily discontinue use of topical steroids or calcineurin inhibitors for greater than or equal to 7 days to small areas of skin intended for sampling. (Topical therapies/emollients for AD may be continued to non-adjacent, nontarget sites.) B. Underlying immunodeficiency, either as primary disease or secondary to treatment. Exclusion Criteria specific for Groups 4, 5, \& 6: HIES/WAS/DOCK8 patients: A. Unable to remain off topical steroids and emollients for preferably 7 days but at least 24 hours prior to body site sampling. Exclusion Criteria specific for Groups 1 \& 3: Healthy Volunteers and Healthy (pediatric) Controls: A. Any subjects with unstable or uncontrolled or chronic medical conditions requiring treatment or hospitalization. Individual determinations will be made at the discretion of the medical investigator. B. Underlying immunodeficiency, either as primary disease or secondary to treatment. C. Other documented chronic dermatologic disease, such as AD or psoriasis that may interfere with evaluation of the cutaneous microbiome. Common transient conditions, such as acne, are permissible. D. Subjects who provide direct healthcare or reside in healthcare facilities or in non-hospital settings such as assisted living facilities, homeless shelters, jails and prisons as well as subjects with frequent exposure to laboratory animals. E. Subjects with asthma. 5\. Any female with symptoms and/or serum hormone levels consistent with perimenopause
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a daily liquid medicine calm severe eczema in toddlers and preschoolers?
- Scientists probe whether lebrikizumab rewires diseased skin at the molecular level
- Can a Lab-Made antibody calm severe eczema?
- Is your nose fueling infected eczema and scabies sores?
- Can an eczema drug reshape the Skin's microbial community?