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Objective Conduct disorder (CD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder marked by notably higher prevalence rates for boys than girls. Converging evidence suggests that CD is associated with impairments in emotion recognition, learning, and regulation. However, it is not known whether there are sex differences in the relationship between CD and emotion dysfunction. Prior studies on emotion functioning in CD have so far been underpowered for investigating sex differences. Therefore, our primary aim was to characterize emotion processing skills in a large sample of girls and boys with CD compared to typically developing controls (TDCs) using a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Method We included 542 youths with CD (317 girls) and 710 TDCs (479 girls), 9 to 18 years of age, from a European multisite study (FemNAT-CD). Participants completed three experimental tasks assessing emotion recognition, learning, and regulation, respectively. Data were analyzed to test for effects of group and sex, and group-by-sex interactions, while controlling for potentially confounding factors. Results Relative to TDCs, youths with CD showed impaired emotion recognition (that was related to more physical and proactive aggression, and higher CU traits), emotional learning (specifically from punishment), and emotion regulation. Boys and girls with CD, however, displayed similar impairments in emotion processing. Conclusion This study provides compelling evidence for a relationship between CD and deficient neurocognitive functioning across three emotional domains that have previously been linked to CD etiology. However, there was no support for sex-specific profiles of emotion dysfunction, suggesting that current neurocognitive models of CD apply equally to both sexes.

Introduction Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is the 4th most common cause of liver damage in Western countries and can be caused by antidepressants. Methods Against the background of increasing antidepressant prescriptions and increasing use of polypharmacy, we analyzed administered antidepressants and other pharmacological substances, liver toxicity, comorbid somatic secondary diseases together with the occurrence of DILI in a patient population of 6 centers throughout Germany. Results The majority of the enrolled 329 patients received polypharmacological treatment in an inpatient setting. During antidepressant treatment 5.1% of the patients had elevated serum transaminase levels, whereby exactly and not more than 1 criterion proposed to be indicative for DILI, was fulfilled by 3 patients (0.9%). Discussion During patient characterization it becomes clear that a sensitization for relevant risk constellations causing liver injury in MDD patients is relevant to prevent further serious adverse events.

European journal of psychological assessment 36 (2020) 2, S. 220-228, Friendships and their different qualities have been shown to be important for adolescents' socio-emotional development and psychological adjustment. In empirical research on such friendship qualities, the Network of Relationship Inventory-Relationship Quality Version (NRI-RQV) is a widely used questionnaire. Here, we conduct an extensive validation of a German version of the NRI-RQV, investigating its factor structure, reliability, and concurrent validity, in a sample of N= 679 adolescents aged 13-18 years. Applying multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, we further test whether the factor structure of the friendship quality construct holds across groups of males and females. Results showed that a structure with nine correlated first-order factors fit the data well, indicating nine distinct friendship qualities in males and females. Measurement invariance testing suggested the same underlying friendship quality construct, albeit differences in mean scores per gender. As evidence for concurrent validity, closeness and discordant friendship qualities showed expected correlations with empathy and social problems, respectively, but not with aggressive behavior. Overall, results indicate good psychometric properties for the German version of the NRI-RQV as a measure of friendship qualities in both males and females. (DIPF/Orig.)

Reduced responsiveness to emotions is hypothesized to contribute to the development of conduct disorder (CD) in children and adolescents. Accordingly, blunted psychophysiological responses to emotions have been observed in boys with CD, but this has never been tested in girls. Therefore, this study compared psychophysiological responses to sadness in girls and boys with and without CD, and different clinical phenotypes of CD: with versus without limited prosocial emotions (LPE), and with versus without comorbid internalizing disorders (INT). Nine-hundred and 27 girls (427 CD, 500 controls) and 519 boys (266 CD, 253 controls) aged 9-18 years participated. Psychophysiological responses were measured while participants watched two validated sad film clips, specifically: heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; indexing parasympathetic activity), preejection period (PEP; indexing sympathetic activity). Girls and boys with CD showed larger HR responses to sadness than controls. This effect was rendered nonsignificant, however, after controlling for covariates. We observed aberrant RSA responses to sadness in CD compared with controls. Similarly, we found a significant positive association between RSA responsivity and antisocial behavior when assessed dimensionally. The effects were very small, though. Results were similar for boys and girls. We found no evidence for emotional underresponsiveness in CD in the largest psychophysiological study to date in this field. More research is needed to explore whether this is specific to sadness or generalizes to other emotions. Furthermore, we recommend that studies on emotion processing in CD assess different physiological measures to help disentangle CD-related effects on sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Oxytocin (OXT) shows anxiolytic and stress-reducing effects, but salivary OXT response to laboratory-induced stress has only been assessed in one study in healthy adults. The present study aimed at extending these findings by assessing salivary OXT stress reactivity in healthy adolescents (aged 11-18) compared to a control condition. A higher salivary OXT response to stress compared to the control condition was expected. In addition, the association between OXT, cortisol (CORT) and psychological reactivity patterns was explored. Psychosocial stress was induced using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; 13 males, 15 females), while the Control-TSST (14 males, 15 females) served as a non-stress control condition. Salivary OXT increased in response to the TSST with a peak at +1 and decline at +10 min after stress. Baseline OXT correlated negatively with experienced anxiety and insecurity, while both correlated positively with OXT reactivity. OXT and CORT increase as well as OXT increase and CORT recovery were positively correlated. Results indicate that salivary OXT in response to the TSST is a valid method to assess biological effects of laboratory-induced stress also in adolescents. Due to a rapid increase and decline, salivary OXT needs to be assessed directly after stress exposure. Given the interplay of OXT with affective symptoms and CORT response, the combined measure of salivary OXT and CORT reactivity adds to studying stress reactivity in typically developing and clinical samples.

Objective To summarize findings of previous studies on the prevalence of trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Conduct Disorder (CD). Method We conducted a systematic review and meta -analysis following the PRISMA guidelines. EBSCOhost, PubMed, CDSR and ARIF databases were searched in October 2016, employing relevant keywords. Results 19 studies met inclusion criteria. Meta -analysis resulted in a lifetime PTSD prevalence of 11% (95% CI: 7–17%) in children and adolescents with CD, 14% (95% CI: 12–15%) in adults with pre-existing CD and 32% (95% CI: 25–40%) in juvenile offenders with CD. Higher lifetime PTSD prevalence was observed in individuals with than without CD, and in females compared to males with CD. Conclusions Studies focusing on the association of trauma, PTSD and CD are still relatively rare. Possible comorbidity models are discussed considering psychological and biological risk factors in a comprehensive model. The high rate of PTSD in CD may be due to shared risk factors; furthermore, CD might increase the risk for comorbid PTSD due to CD inherent risk taking behavior. To study pathways of risk, especially longitudinal studies are necessary.

Zusammenfassung. Kinder und Jugendliche mit aggressiven Verhaltensweisen zeigen gehäuft Probleme in der sozialen Interaktion. Das Eingehen und Aufrechterhalten von Freundschaften gilt im Jugendalter als Entwicklungsaufgabe, deren Gelingen oder Misslingen sich auf die psychosoziale Anpassung auswirken kann. Bezüglich Freundschaftsqualitäten und aggressiven Verhaltensweisen weist die Literatur jedoch heterogene Befunde auf. Die vorliegende Übersichtsarbeit stellt Zusammenhänge zwischen Freundschaftsqualitäten und unterschiedlichen Kategorien aggressiven Verhaltens dar, die diese Unterschiede erklären können. Dabei wird deutlich, dass offen, relational, reaktiv und proaktiv aggressives Handeln mit vermehrt konfliktreichen Freundschaften im Zusammenhang steht. Ein Teil der Studien weist zusätzlich auf intime und unterstützende Freundschaften im Zusammenhang mit relationaler und proaktiver Aggression hin. Die Ergebnisse werden hinsichtlich ihrer Relevanz für die Forschung und den klinischen Alltag diskutiert.

Hostile attributions of intention have been discussed in relation to the development and maintenance of aggressive behavior in children for over thirty years. In this time, factors such as subtypes in the function (reactive versus proactive) and form (relational versus physical) of aggression as well moderators of aggression, such as gender, have been studied in increasing detail in relation to attributions of intention. The present article reviews the literature on hostile attributions and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents under consideration of aggression subtypes and the influence of gender. Results of 27 empirical research articles show that hostile attribution biases (1) are more consistently related to reactive rather than proactive aggression, (2) show evidence for separate pathways between relational and physical aggression and the respective attribution bias, and (3) are associated with aggression in both genders, with no clear gender differences in association strength. Implications for cognitive training to reduce attribution bias in treatment of childhood aggression and an outlook on further research domains are discussed.

Background: This article reports reliability, validity, and norms for the German version of the multi-informant questionnaire Inventory of Callous–Unemotional Traits (ICU). Method: The ICU was filled in by nonreferred children aged 13 to 18 years old (n = 645), parents of children aged 6 to 18 years old (n = 1,005), and their teachers (n = 955). Results: Confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a two-factor solution giving the best fit. Still none of the models showed an adequate model-fit applying the chi-square exact fit test. The internal consistency of the parent’s, teacher’s, and self-report version were α = .830, α = .877 and α = .769, respectively. Interrater reliability was moderate. Convergent validity with the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory, the externalizing scores of the Youth Self-Report/Child Behavior Checklist, and with the German oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder Rating Scale “FBB-SSV” were good. German norms were calculated. Conclusions: The ICU is a reliable and valid dimensional measure to describe callous–unemotional traits.

Purpose: Autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning has been widely studied in relation to antisocial behavior, such as Conduct Disorder (CD). However, research in females is scarce and findings are inconsistent. This study investigated baseline ANS activity in CD children and adolescents and tested for sex differences. Furthermore, subgroups of CD were investigated: +/‐ Limited Prosocial Emotions (LPE), +/‐ comorbid internalizing disorders (INT). Methods: Baseline ANS activity was measured by Heart Rate (HR), Heart Rate Variability (HRV; parasympathetic activity), Pre-Ejection Period (PEP; sympathetic activity), and Respiration Rate (RR). 659 females (296 CD, 363 controls) and 351 males (187 CD, 164 controls), aged 9–18 years participated. Results: Baseline HR, HRV and PEP did not differ between CD subjects and controls in both sexes. RR was higher in CD participants than controls amongst females, but not males. LPE was unrelated to ANS activity, whereas females with CD + INT presented lower HRV. Conclusions: These results suggest that baseline ANS activity is not a robust indicator for CD. However, deviant ANS activity – especially parasympathetic activity - was observed in CD females with internalizing comorbidity. The psychophysiological abnormalities observed in this subgroup are indicative of emotion regulation problems. Accordingly, this subgroup may require specific interventions.

Supplemental material, supplement for Assessing Callous–Unemotional Traits in 6- to 18-Year-Olds: Reliability, Validity, Factor Structure, and Norms of the German Version of the Inventory of Callous–Unemotional Traits by Kathrin Ueno, Katharina Ackermann, Christine M. Freitag and Christina Schwenck in Assessment

Journal of criminal justice 65, 101536 (2019). doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.01.004 special issue: "Practical implications of neuroscience in the field of criminal justice / Edited by Liza Cornet, Katy de Kogel, Florian Bootsman", Published by Pergamon Press, New York, NY [u.a.]

We consider the uplink of firefly ultra dense networks which combine the promising features of ultra dense deployment and centralized processing. In these networks, a large number of radio units, also referred to as firefly nodes (FNs), are spatially distributed over an area. The mobile devices (MDs) in the coverage area are simultaneously connected via sub-6 GHz radio frequency links to all FNs. Unlike the cloud radio access networks (C-RAN) architecture, in firefly ultra dense networks, the FNs forward the MDs' data through multi-hop mmWave links to one or multiple root nodes since the coverage radius of each mmWave link is limited. The root nodes forward the data via optical fiber links further to the central unit, where the MDs' signals are decoded. Since the amount of data received at each FN is potentially huge, efficient signal processing is needed at the FNs before the signals are forwarded to the next FNs. Therefore, we investigate locally-designed linear processing schemes, where all received signal streams are linearly filtered at each FN before being forwarded over an available mmWave link. Our simulation results reveal a significant performance improvement compared to a baseline scheme.

Exposure to community violence through witnessing or being directly victimized has been associated with conduct problems in a range of studies. However, the relationship between community violence exposure (CVE) and conduct problems has never been studied separately in healthy individuals and individuals with conduct disorder (CD). Therefore, it is not clear whether the association between CVE and conduct problems is due to confounding factors, because those with high conduct problems also tend to live in more violent neighborhoods, i.e., an ecological fallacy. Hence, the aim of the present study was: (1) to investigate whether the association between recent CVE and current conduct problems holds true for healthy controls as well as adolescents with a diagnosis of CD; (2) to examine whether the association is stable in both groups when including effects of aggression subtypes (proactive/reactive aggression), age, gender, site and socioeconomic status (SES); and (3) to test whether proactive or reactive aggression mediate the link between CVE and conduct problems. Data from 1178 children and adolescents (62% female; 44% CD) aged between 9 years and 18 years from seven European countries were analyzed. Conduct problems were assessed using the Kiddie-Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia diagnostic interview. Information about CVE and aggression subtypes was obtained using self-report questionnaires (Social and Health Assessment and Reactive-Proactive aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), respectively). The association between witnessing community violence and conduct problems was significant in both groups (adolescents with CD and healthy controls). The association was also stable after examining the mediating effects of aggression subtypes while including moderating effects of age, gender and SES and controlling for effects of site in both groups. There were no clear differences between the groups in the strength of the association between witnessing violence and conduct problems. However, we found evidence for a ceiling effect, i.e., individuals with very high levels of conduct problems could not show a further increase if exposed to CVE and vice versa. Results indicate that there was no evidence for an ecological fallacy being the primary cause of the association, i.e., CVE must be considered a valid risk factor in the etiology of CD.

The original publication [1] contains a typographical typo in the Author's contributions section: "CS wrote the grant application." The correct sentence is: "CF coordinates the FemNAT-CD FP7 research project."

The original publication [1] contains a typographical typo in the Author's contributions section: "CS wrote the grant application." The correct sentence is: "CF coordinates the FemNAT-CD FP7 research project."

Trials 18(1), 95 (2017). doi:10.1186/s13063-017-1817-7, Published by BioMed Central, London

Background: In Europe, the number of females exhibiting oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) is growing. Many of these females live in youth welfare institutions. Consequently, there is a great need for evidence-based interventions within youth welfare settings. A recently developed approach targeting the specific needs of girls with ODD and CD in residential care is START NOW. The aim of this group-based behavioural skills training programme is to specifically enhance emotional regulation capacities to enable females with CD or ODD to appropriately deal with daily-life demands. It is intended to enhance psychosocial adjustment and well-being as well as reduce oppositional and aggressive behaviour. We present the study protocol (version 4.1; 10 February 2016) of the FemNAT-CD intervention trial titled 'Group-Based Treatment of Adolescent Female Conduct Disorders: The Central Role of Emotion Regulation'.Methods/design: The study is a prospective, confirmatory, cluster-randomised, parallel-group, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial with 128 institutionalised female adolescents who fulfil the diagnostic criteria of ODD and/or CD. Institutions/wards will be randomised either to provide the 12-week skills training as an add-on intervention or to provide treatment as usual. Once the first cycle is completed, each institution will run a second cycle with the opposite condition. Primary endpoints are the pre-post change in number of CD/ODD symptoms as assessed by a standardised, semi-structured psychiatric interview (Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children–Present and Lifetime, CD/ODD section) between baseline and the end of intervention, as well as between baseline and a 3-month follow-up point. Secondary objectives include pre-post change in CD/ODD-related outcome measures, most notably emotional regulation on a behavioural and neurobiological level after completion of START NOW compared with treatment as usual.Discussion: To our knowledge, this study is the first to date to systematically investigate the effectiveness of an adapted integrative psychosocial intervention designed for female adolescents with ODD and CD in youth welfare settings.Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) identifier: DRKS00007524. Registered on 18 December 2015 and with the World Health Organisation International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

Introduction Children and adolescents with aggressive behavior tendencies show difficulties in correctly determining the social intention of others, tending to interpret the behavior of others as being intentionally hostile. Previously, we have shown distinct neural correlates of attributing hostile intent with increasing aggression scores within a community sample of adolescents. The aim of the current study was to investigate these neural processes among adolescents with a diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) compared to a healthy control group (CG), while considering gender by diagnosis interactions. Methods 47 adolescents with CD (M 14.2, SD 2.01) and 65 adolescents without any psychiatric diagnoses (M 15.1, SD 2.41) rated 1.5 s audiovisual laugh sequences in a 3T MRI scanner. 20 friendly, 20 tickling and 20 taunting sequences were rated as friendly or taunting on a four-point scale. Rating differences were calculated with a 2 (gender) × 2 (group: CD vs CG) × 3 (laughter type) mixed model ANOVA. Neural responses were calculated in SPM8 in a whole brain analysis of the BOLD response to each laughter type and the correlation with hostile ratings of laughter intention. Results Overall, CD rated laughter as more hostile than CG (F(2, 107) = 5.940, p . 05 ), yet a significant laughter type × group interaction (F(2, 107) = 5.944, p . 001 ) showed this to be driven by friendly laughter. In neural response, CD > CG showed increased activation in the right inferior parietal lobe (IPL; x = 57, y = −51, z = 42; k = 313; Tpeak = 4.97; pFWE females showed increased activation in medial prefrontal (mPFC), extending into dorsal anterior cingulate cortices (dACC) (x = −6, y = 54, z = 9; k = 317; Tpeak = 4.59; pFWE Conclusions The current findings show deviant processing of social signals among adolescents with conduct disorder. CD participants showed heightened activation in early auditory processing regions (MTG) as well as more hostile ratings of friendly laughter. These results partially replicate previous findings in a population-based sample, emphasizing the importance of early sensory processing during social intention attribution in aggressive participants. Males showed increased activation of the areas implicated in both the mentalizing and social pain networks, mPFC and dACC, during intention attribution of taunting laughter. This unexpected result speaks for heightened emotional processing in males in response to signals of social exclusion.

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The aim of this study was to assess a recently established 3D model of congenital ichthyosis, representing severe epidermal barrier function defects, for skin penetration and permeation. We have generated disease models by knock-down of either TGM1 or ALOXE3 in primary human keratinocytes, and using keratinocytes and fibroblasts from patients with congenital ichthyosis. The results indicate disturbed barrier function as demonstrated by increased permeation of testosterone and caffeine particularly in TGM1 knock-down models compared to control models. In addition, enhanced penetration of the model dye nile red incorporated into solid lipid nanoparticles and core-multishell nanotransporters, respectively, was evident in disease models. Thus, in vitro skin disease models reproduce differences in barrier permeability and function seen in congenital ichthyosis and pave the way to personalised disease models. Furthermore, our findings indicate that nanocarriers may be useful in new, topical therapeutic approaches for the currently very limited treatment of congenital ichthyosis.

In recent years many efforts have been made to replace dermal toxicity testing of chemicals in the animal by in vitro assays. As a member of a German research consortium, we have previously contributed to the validation of an in vitro test protocol for percutaneous absorption studies on the basis of reconstructed human epidermis and both human and pig skin ex vivo. Aiming to assess the barrier properties of a newly developed reconstructed skin model, this protocol has now been transferred to the Phenion® Full-Thickness Skin Model (FT model). The permeation of testosterone and caffeine was quantified in parallel to that of pig skin using Franz-type diffusion cells. In addition, the permeation of benzoic acid and nicotine was studied. As expected, the FT model is more permeable than pig skin, yet its barrier properties are well in accordance with those of reconstructed human epidermis when compared to previous data. In fact, the FT model most efficiently retards testosterone as the compound of highest lipophilicity, which can be explained by an additional uptake by a reservoir formed by the dermis equivalent. Thus, the structure closely parallels human skin. In consequence, the Phenion FT model appears to be suitable for percutaneous absorption studies in hazard analysis and should be subjected to a catch-up validation study.

Introduction The attribution of intent during social interaction is a cornerstone of the social adjustment process ( Crick and Dodge, 1994 ). In particular, the tendency to attribute hostile intent has consistently been associated with and argued to play a role in the development and maintenance of aggressive behavior in childhood and adolescence ( Dodge, 2006 ). However, little is known about the neural correlates of hostile intent attributions ( Erdley et al., 2010 ). We used fMRI and behavioral measures to investigate intent attributions and attention biases for hostile social stimuli using social laughter processing in children and adolescents under consideration of gender and age effects. Methods 35 girls and 28 boys in three age groups (9–12, 13–15 and 16–18y; mean 15.3, SD 2.39) without current psychiatric diagnoses rated 1.5s audiovisual laugh sequences in a 3T MRI scanner. 20 friendly, 20 tickling and 20 taunting sequences ( Szameitat et al., 2009 ) were rated as friendly or taunting on a four-point scale. Rating, reaction time (RT) and attention bias (RT friendly – RT taunting laughter) differences were calculated with three 2 (gender) × 3 (age group) × 3 (laughter type) mixed model ANOVAs. Participants with excessive movement or spurious responding were removed from analysis. Neural responses were calculated in SPM8 in a whole brain analysis of the BOLD response to each laughter type and the correlations to hostile intent rating, physical aggression ( Buss and Perry, 1992 ) and callous unemotional traits ( Frick, 2003 ). Results A significant main effect of laughter type ( F = 100.62, p F = 2.829, p = .068) and the main effect of age on attention bias ( F = 2.634, p = .083) approached significance, with younger participants showing attention bias to taunting and older participants to friendly laughter. Callousness and physical aggression correlated with hostile ratings of friendly ( r = .288, p r = .315, p r = −.404, p A broad network showed increased BOLD response during laughter processing, including bilateral medial and superior temporal gyri (MTG, STG), inferior and medial frontal gyri (IFG, MFG), caudate nuclei and left superior parietal lobe (whole brain FWE p Conclusions The current study found an extended neural network involved in laughter processing in children and adolescents, similar to that found in adults ( Szameitat et al., 2010 ). In addition, attribution of hostile intent in laughter was found to associate with changes in BOLD signal strength across these processing areas. This association strength was modulated by youth’s aggressive behavior and callous personality traits.

High and lowfitwomen (n=22 per group; in the follicular phase of themenstrual cycle)were subjected to a TSST (Kirschbaum, Pirke et al., 1993) at 1500h. Blood sampleswere collectedevery7–15min from 1400h–1700h for the measurement of concentrations of cortisol, Adr, NA and dopamine (DA)whichwere comparedwithin and between groups using repeated measures ANOVA. Maximumoxygen consumption (VO2max)was higher (p

Loss-of-function mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLG) are a strong predisposing factor for atopic dermatitis, although their relevance to the disease pathomechanism needs further elucidation. The generation of an in vitro model of atopic skin would not only permit further evaluation of the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms and the testing of new treatment options, but would also allow toxicological studies to be performed in a simple, rapid and inexpensive manner. In this study, we have knocked down FLG expression in human keratinocytes and created three-dimensional skin models, which we used to investigate the impact of FLG on epidermal maturation and on skin absorption and its response to irritation. Histopathological evaluation of the skin models showed impaired epidermal differentiation in the FLG knockdown model. In addition, skin irritation induced by an application of sodium dodecyl sulphate resulted in significantly higher lactate dehydrogenase leakage, and interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 levels, than in the control model. To assess the effect of filaggrin deficiency on skin absorption of topically applied agents, we quantified the percutaneous absorption of lipophilic and hydrophilic model drugs, finding clinical relevance only for lipophilic drugs. This study clearly demonstrates that important clinical characteristics of atopic skin can be mimicked by using in vitro skin models. The FLG knock-down construct is the first step toward an in vitro model that allows clinical and toxicological studies of atopic-like skin.

Generalized peeling skin disease is an autosomal-recessive ichthyosiform erythroderma characterized by lifelong patchy peeling of the skin. After genome-wide linkage analysis, we have identified a homozygous nonsense mutation in CDSN in a large consanguineous family with generalized peeling skin, pruritus, and food allergies, which leads to a complete loss of corneodesmosin. In contrast to hypotrichosis simplex, which can be associated with specific dominant CDSN mutations, peeling skin disease is characterized by a complete loss of CDSN expression. The skin phenotype is consistent with a recent murine Cdsn knockout model. Using three-dimensional human skin models, we demonstrate that lack of corneodesmosin causes an epidermal barrier defect supposed to account for the predisposition to atopic diseases, and we confirm the role of corneodesmosin as a decisive epidermal adhesion molecule. Therefore, peeling skin disease will represent a new model disorder for atopic diseases, similarly to Netherton syndrome and ichthyosis vulgaris in the recent past.