Donation from late Samsung chairman's family gives hope to young atopic dermatitis patients

Social Affairs

Donation from late Samsung chairman's family gives hope to young atopic dermatitis patients

Published: 03 Sep. 2024, 16:09

LEE SOO-JUNG
lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr

A child walks by a facial sculpture of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee installed in a lobby at Seoul National University Hospital's Children's Hospital in central Seoul in July. [JANG JIN-YOUNG]

A teenager has been suffering from atopic dermatitis for years after it appeared during his elementary school years. He could barely sleep at night because of the severe itchiness, which made him scratch his skin all night, leaving him bleeding. His mother also stayed awake at night to care for him.

After battling with atopic dermatitis overnight, the mother and son usually slept during the daytime. The inverted circadian rhythm — also known as the sleep-wake cycle — left the boy aggressive and edgy. He screamed and resisted whenever he had to apply ointment on his irritated skin.

In Korea, many children and adolescents are diagnosed with chronic atopic dermatitis.

According to an estimate from Ahn Kang-mo, a pediatric professor at Samsung Medical Center, around 20,000 to 40,000 pediatric patients suffer from chronic atopic dermatitis across the country.

Atopic dermatitis often develops into other complications such as asthma, allergic rhinitis and depression.

Prof. Ahn said the disease harms patients’ quality of life and burdens families with expensive medical bills. He also noted that child patients must tolerate psychological stress due to the attention paid to their skin condition.

Atopic dermatitis remains challenging to treat, according to a report from the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday.

The exact number of patients and how complications develop remain unknown, leaving doctors unsure which medications would best suit their patients and when to administer those drugs.

Pediatric doctors said state support for atopic dermatitis treatment has been sidelined because of the low number of patients and lack of public attention.

However, a donation of 300 billion won ($223 million) from the bereaved family of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee became a “game-changer.” The fund — given to support research and treatment of pediatric cancer and rare diseases — has covered studies of atopic dermatitis.

Graph shows an increase in the ratio of severe atopic dermatitis among total atopic dermatitis patients. [AHN KANG-MO, KIM JUNG-HEE]

The fund enabled a recent study led by Prof. Ahn and Prof. Shin Sang-hee from Chung-Ang University Hospital, whose research results were shared in an international academic journal published by the Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The study revealed that the number of patients aged between six and 20 with severe atopic dermatitis doubled from 20 per 100,000 in 2011 to 40 per 100,000 in 2019.

In the same period, the ratio of patients with severe symptoms among all atopic dermatitis patients rose from 0.76 percent to 1.1 percent. The professors classified patients taking immunosuppressive drugs as severe. They did not include patients simply using moisturizers or antihistamines in the bracket.

The research also found that severe atopic dermatitis patients have a higher risk of experiencing chronic systematic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disorders or malignant tumors compared to those with lighter symptoms.

Prof. Ahn Kang-mo explains about research on pediatric atopic dermatitis at his office in Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Having atopic dermatitis is a “warning sign” for one’s health, experts said.

“Now, doctors can only assume a correlation between severe atopic dermatitis and chronic diseases,” Prof. Ahn said, noting that the “cause-and-effect relationship still needs to be verified.”

The research was closer to the starting line, gathering data on domestic atopic dermatitis as a preparatory stage for additional research.

Prof. Ahn and his colleague Prof. Kim Ji-hyun envision a future where they can identify specific immunological mechanisms shared by Korean pediatric patients. They also plan to substantiate medical grounds for more optimized and faster drug treatments for better patient care.

They believe that a patient’s biological markers, indicators of one’s internal medical condition that can be analyzed through cells and DNA, could enable optimal and personalized treatment for atopic dermatitis. The professors also predict that it could help prevent other diseases related to atopic dermatitis.

They anticipate that Korea could lead the way in biomarker-related research.

Prof. Ahn expects that if the professors continue their research, a “common immunological mechanism between patients could be identified.”

Upon discovering the common immunological mechanism, doctors could “prescribe the medication best suited to patients according to their health conditions from the very first stage of treatment” and “intervene in treatment progressively.”

“If treatments given during their years of growth — to children and teenagers — are successful, pediatric patients can live more than 60 years afterward happily.”

Ahn said children whose symptoms improve tend to behave more positively.

Another teenage girl whose skin was irritated used to wear only full-sleeve clothes. However, once her condition improved, she started to wear skirts.

The teenage boy with a sleep disorder has mellowed out and gets some sleep at night.

Research on atopic dermatitis is becoming increasingly important, as it could help reduce the number of children suffering from the illness and help them grow up in good health.

“If it were not for Chairman Lee’s will, research on pediatric diseases would have been difficult,” Prof. Ahn said, noting that “accomplishment enabled by the donation will lead to bigger achievements.”

BY JEONG JONG-HOON [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]