The investigators' primary objective is to identify common and rare mutations in the filaggrin gene in African American patients with a diagnosis of atopic dermatitis and ichthyosis vulgaris. Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a common, chronic, relapsing and remitting problem in many children and affects 10-20% of the pediatric population. Itch is a predominant feature of this disease and is quite disruptive to daily activities of life. In addition to itch, it is characterized by markedly dry skin, small red bumps that may have fluid. Ichthyosis vulgaris is characterized by extremely dry, scaly skin with a fine white scale and increased amounts of lines noted on the palms. Filaggrin is a protein that is essential for the skin to function properly as a barrier and found to be mutated in some European patients with ichthyosis vulgaris and atopic dermatitis. This association has not been looked at in the African American population. Genomic DNA (gDNA) will be purified from buccal swabs using commercially available kits and analyzed.

NCT01016106

Conditions

1. Atopic Dermatitis
2. Ichthyosis Vulgaris

Interventions

1. Genetic: Buccal Swab

MeSH:Dermatitis, Atopic Ichthyosis Ichthyosis, Lamellar Ichthyosis Vulgaris Dermatitis Eczema

HPO:Atopic dermatitis Congenital nonbullous ichthyosiform erythroderma Eczema Eczematoid dermatitis Ichthyosis Inflammatory abnormality of the skin

All nucleotide changes were noted, including 30 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the population tested, the most common of which were coding changes at T454A, H2507Q, and G2545R, and silent change at nucleotide t2508c.. Inclusion Criteria: - Age greater than 6 months - Affected subjects: Must be African American and have a diagnosis of both atopic dermatitis or eczema as well as ichthyosis vulgaris - Control subjects: Must be healthy African American subjects - Must be willing to not apply emollients for 24 hours prior to visit. --- T454A ---