Anne Ringer Ellingsen, Flemming Brandt Sørensen, Jytte Overgaard Larsen, Mette Søndergaard Deleuran, Kristian Thestrup-Pedersen
DOI: 10.1080/00015550152572886

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is histologically characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of the skin and quantitative assessment is required. This study introduces stereological techniques to quantify the number of lymphocytes in skin biopsies. Fourmillimetre punch biopsies were taken from skin with active eczema in 8 adults with AD and from clinically normal skin from 4 of the patients. Five persons without allergy or skin disease served as controls. The mean number of lymphocytes in 4-mm skin biopsies was 469,000 and 124,000 in active eczema and in clinically normal skin, respectively. Compared with controls, the number of lymphocytes in biopsies increased by a factor of 6.8 in active eczema and a factor of 1.8 in clinically normal skin. If 20 % of skin is affected by eczema the total number of lymphocytes located in the affected skin can be estimated to 1.27 2 1010. A patient with clinically moderate AD has a consi