A screening of skin changes, with special emphasis on neurochemical marker antibody evaluation, in patients claiming to suffer from "screen dermatitis" as compared to normal healthy controls.

In the present study, facial skin from so-called "screen dermatitis" patients were compared with corresponding material from normal healthy volunteers. The aim of the study was to evaluate possible markers to be used for future double-blind or blind provocation investigations. Differences were found for the biological markers calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), somatostatin (SOM), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), peptide histidine isoleucine amide (PHI), neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY), protein S-100 (S-100), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT). The overall impression in the blind-coded material was such that it turned out easy to blindly separate the two groups from each other. However, no single marker was 100% able to pin-point the difference, although some were quite powerful in doing so (CGRP, SOM, S-100). However, it has to be pointed out that we cannot, based upon the present results, draw any definitive conclusions about the cause of the changes observed. Whether this is due to electric or magnetic fields, a surrounding airborne chemical, humidity, heating, stress factors, or something else, still remains an open question. Blind or double-blind provocations in a controlled environment are necessary to elucidate possible underlying causes for the changes reported in this investigation.