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WCM-Q conference hears from experts on skin disease

Professor Martin Steinhoff, professor of dermatology at WCM-Q and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, speaking at the conference.
Professor Martin Steinhoff, professor of dermatology at WCM-Q and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, speaking at the conference.

Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q) has held its first preceptorship on atopic dermatitis, with participants hearing from world-leading experts at a two-day conference.

The event took place at WCM-Q and involved dermatologists from the region and Europe lecturing on a variety of topics surrounding atopic dermatitis, including diagnosis, treatment and complications associated with the disease.

Professor Georg Stingl, professor emeritus at the Medical University of Vienna, began proceedings by explaining the pathophysiology of the condition.

Prof. Stingl said: “Firstly, in many instances it’s a disease of childhood or at least it starts in childhood. Also, what differentiates this from other skin diseases is that the skin is very dry and that’s why people scratch. Thirdly, the skin is often infected with staphylococcus aureus. Finally, as the skin progresses, the skin loses its smoothness and thickens.

“If you had asked me 20 years ago what the pathogenesis is of atopic dermatitis, I would’ve said it’s an immunological disease; a lot of these patients have asthma and a lot suffer from hay fever. But the real situation is much more different. We are no longer certain that the first pathogenetic event is immunological; it may actually be that there is a defect within the skin.”

Prof. Stingl, who has won numerous awards for his work in dermatology and is a highly successful researcher, said the pathology of atopic dermatitis is that the skin barrier is deficient, there is immunogenic inflammation, patients have an altered microbiome, they suffer from neurogenic inflammation, and there is xenobiotic irritation.

The conference also heard from co-organizer Professor Martin Steinhoff, professor of dermatology at WCM-Q and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York who discussed mild and moderate forms of the disease, and Professor Alain Taïeb, professor emeritus at the University of Bordeaux, who spoke about the challenges of diagnosing atopic dermatitis.

Professor Alain Taïeb, professor emeritus at the University of Bordeaux.

Dr, Maryam Ali Al-Nesf Al-Mansouri, head of allergy and immunology at Hamad Medical Corporation gave the delegates an insight into the disease from a pulmonary perspective, while Dr. Rehab Sabry Helal, associate consultant in the Ophthalmology Department at Hamad Medical Corporation discussed how clinicians could manage eye inflammation in patients with the disease.

Dr. Khaled Machaca, senior associate dean for research, innovations, and commercialization at WCM-Q said: “This preceptorship has been highly successful and brought together world-leading experts to Qatar to pass on their knowledge and experience to practicing clinicians and healthcare professionals, improving the care that people receive for atopic dermatitis. We hope this will be a recurring event to support clinical and research training in atopic dermatitis.”

Professor Georg Stingl, professor emeritus at the Medical University of Vienna.