The Dermatology Department in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, has a long established research program over the last 15 years. At all stages the research program is supported by the NCRC Children’s Clinical Research Unit (CCRU). Our work centres on the most common inflammatory skin condition in children, namely atopic dermatitis (eczema), on rare genetic skin disorders and, more recently on therapeutic development. Our basic science and discovery research includes genetic research on atopic dermatitis – the NCRC collection comprises DNA from 4,000 children and is the largest in the world. This collection was used for the discovery of the role of filaggrin in atopic dermatitis (eczema). The department has also studied skin barrier function in great detail in eczema using a variety of non-invasive techniques including Raman spectroscopy and tape stripping. We run a number of both investigator-led and industry centred drug trials for children with eczema and for genetic skin disorders such as epidermolysis bullosa.
| Study Name | Study Title | Study Type | Sponsor | Sponsor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRiTI | Clinical, immunologic and microbiologic characterisation of early onset atopic eczema: A study to identify factors in disease initiation, severity, flare and resolution. | Non-Interventional Study | NCRC | Academic - Investigator Led |
| TREAT | A randomised clinical trial to assess the treatment safety and efficacy of oral methotrexate (MTX) vs ciclosporin (CyA) in the treatment of severe recalcitrant atopic eczema (AE) in children | Clinical Trial | King’s College London and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust | Academic - Investigator Led |
| APPLES | A prospective paediatric study to assess the long-term safety of tacrolimus ointment for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. | Non-Interventional Clinical Trial | Astellas Pharma | Industry Sponsored |
| EASE | Double-blind, Randomised, Vehicle-controlled, Phase III, Efficacy and Safety Study with 24-month Open-label Follow-up of Oleogel-S10 in Patients with Inherited Epidermolysis Bullosa | Clinical Trial | Amryt | Industry Sponsored |
| BADBIR | British Association of Dermatologists Biologic Interventions Register | Non-Interventional Study | University of Manchester | Academic - Collaborative Group |
| Study Name | Study Title | Study Type | Sponsor | Sponsor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eczema & Food Allergy | Identification of Major Susceptibility Genes for Eczema and Food Allergy | Non-Interventional Clinical Trial | NCRC, Wellcome Trust | Academic - Investigator Led |
| Whole Exome Sequencing | Whole exome screening and next generation sequencing | Non-Interventional Study | NCRC and University of Dundee | Academic - Investigator Led |
| Regional Filaggrin | A Study to Investigate Regional Filaggrin Expression | Non-Interventional Study | NCRC | Academic - Investigator Led |
| DS107E-05 | A prospective, randomised, vehicle-controlled, double-blind, exploratory clinical trial to assess the efficacy and steroid sparing potential of DGLA cream topically applied to early childhood patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis | Clinical Trial | Afimmune | Industry Sponsored |
| Overgrowth genetics projects | Clinical and molecular characterization of PIK3Kinase related Overgrowth Syndromes | Non-Interventional Study | NCRC and Cambridge University | Academic - Investigator Led |
| Vascular malformation projects | Clinical and molecular characterization of hyperkeratotic vascular malformations | Non-Interventional Study | NCRC and Université catholique de Louvain | Academic - Investigator Led |
| Inflazome CAPS | MCC950 and derivatives in CAPS patients | Non-Interventional Study | Inflazome Ltd / Trinity College Dublin | Academic - Investigator Led |
