Molecular signatures for better differentiation: Psoriasis and eczema - What we can learn from doubly affected patients

For a better understanding of the pathogenesis of complex, inflammatory skin diseases, molecular signatures represent an important tool. However until today, the establishment of reliable signatures for psoriasis and eczema was hampered by the high inter-individual differences in the patient cohorts investigated. Quaranta et al.1 report in a recently published work in Science Translational Medicine about a unique patient cohort that overcomes these known obstacles - patients affected by psoriasis and eczema simultaneously1. With this cohort, the authors could establish clear signatures for both diseases and underline the importance of the immune system in the pathogenesis. These signatures also allowed to establish a classifier that dissects psoriasis from eczema reliably - An important step for patients with uncertain diagnosis and a first step into personalized medicine in inflammatory skin diseases.