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Investigating Markers of Early-Onset Atopic Dermatitis, with Amy Eapen, MD
Eapen discussed her research into analyzing the cord blood methylome for markers that predict atopic dermatitis risk at the AAAAI/WAO Joint Congress.
A study led by Amy Eapen, MD, an allergist-immunologist at Henry Ford Health System, has found distinct cord-blood DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns are associated with a risk of early-onset atopic dermatitis by 2 years old. Eapen presented the findings in a late-breaking abstract at the 2025 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting in San Diego from February 28 – March 3.
Eapen and colleagues analyzed DNA from the umbilical cord blood of 302 using the Asthma & Allergy array tool and identified 16 differentially methylated regions linked to early-onset atopic dermatitis. In the 16 regions, 180 CpG sites were the most important for predicting early-onset atopic dermatitis and these sites had poly-CpG scores with high predictability of early-onset atopic dermatitis (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve, 93.7%; sensitivity, 84.9%; specificity, 86.3%).
HCPLive spoke with Eapen to learn more about her investigations into the cord blood methylome and how the findings could potentially impact clinical care for early-onset atopic dermatitis. She shared how cord methylome screening could potentially fit into newborn screens and may help to prevent other atopic disease such as food allergy. She also mused that future studies could look at predicting responses to targeted therapies with DNA methylation markers. Lastly, she stressed the importance of continuing population birth cohort research for advances in early-onset atopic dermatitis and other diseases.
“Especially for early-onset atopic dermatitis, the biggest leaps that we've been able to make in science are from population birth cohorts, which have been funded by the NIH and NIAID. So, continuing this work will be super important for our diverse populations across the country, and also in identifying ways to prevent these diseases, because that is the goal,” Eapen said.
Eapen reported no relevant disclosures.
