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The gene filaggrin (FLG) codes for a protein that cross-links keratin and is critical in forming a healthy top layer of skin. FLG mutations that reduce the availability of the protein in skin are present in approximately 9% of northern Europeans, so are relatively common. Carriers typically have thin, flaky and dry skin. In the last two years it has been shown that FLG mutations are strongly associated with atopic conditions such as eczema and asthma in children and younger adults. The effects of FLG mutations in middle aged and older people were not known.

In a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Rice et al examined the effect of the two common FLG mutations on the prevalence of asthma and allergic conditions in people aged 50 years and older. Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), the University of Exeter based research group compiled data from 5,289 individuals who had been genotyped for FLG. They found that 9% of their study subjects had a filaggrin mutation. Comparing those with mutations to those without, they found a significant association with symptomatic asthma in this older group. Eczema was also associated with FLG mutations, and this association seemed to affect the age of onset: sixty-one percent of carriers with eczema reported that they developed their skin conditions before the age of 20. Studies in young children show that a majority of carriers develop allergy, but the researchers noted that only a minority of their older mutation carriers suffered from eczema or asthma, with over 80% having neither condition. Further work is needed to establish what factors in people with FLG mutations lead to their resilience or susceptibility in later life. Scientists have speculated that the FLG association might one day lead to ways of preventing allergy in mutation carriers, probably by artificially restoring the skin barrier.

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