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Summary: Background: Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is the best‐studied detergent in irritant contact dermatitis. In atopic dermatitis, the two major pathophysiological abnormalities concern skin barrier function and regulation of cutaneous immune responses. The probability of atopic skin diathesis can be assessed by comprehensive analysis of patient history, as well as clinical and laboratory findings, resulting in the Erlangen Atopy Score (EAS). Objectives: To investigate the impacts of (i) atopic skin diathesis according to the EAS and (ii) the physician‐assessed diagnoses 'atopic dermatitis', 'allergic rhinitis' and 'allergic asthma' on SLS skin reactions. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of data from 2030 consecutive patients patch tested with SLS (0·25% aqueous) from two tertiary referral centres in Germany, from 2008 to 2014. Results: Patients with a high probability of atopic skin diathesis showed no significant increase in positive SLS reactions compared with patients without atopic skin diathesis (14·2% vs. 16·8%). The grading of positive SLS skin reactions (1–4) revealed no differences in patients with or without atopic skin diathesis. Furthermore, diagnoses of atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis or allergic asthma had no impact on positive SLS skin reactions in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusions: We found no association of increased skin irritability to SLS with atopic skin diathesis, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis or allergic asthma in a large patient cohort. It therefore seems that the test of skin irritability with SLS, which is currently common practice in many centres, does not allow prediction of susceptibility to irritant eczematous inflammation in atopic vs. nonatopic individuals. What's already known about this topic? Irritant contact dermatitis and atopic skin diathesis share impaired skin barrier function as a pathophysiological pattern.Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is tested at 0·25% aqueous as an irritant control in patch testing, and hence the results might be affected by atopic skin diathesis. What does this study add? Challenging a long‐standing paradigm, we found no association of increased reactivity to SLS patch tests in individuals with atopic skin diathesis, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis or allergic asthma in a large patient cohort.Thus, irritant control testing with SLS, which is useful in interpreting doubtful allergen patch test results, does not depend on individual atopy status. Linked Comment: Agner and Elsner. Br J Dermatol 2020; 183:13. Plain language summary available online Respond to this article [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EPR spectra of the fluoroformyloxyl radical FCO2 isolated in noble gas matrices at temperatures from 5 to 30 K have been investigated. This study provides principal g values and 19F hyperfine coupling constants of FCO2 measured in Ar matrices at 5 K, and yields isotropic values at 30 K. A detailed analysis of the coupling parameters obtained from the EPR and a concomitant high resolution spectroscopic MMW study supported by quantum chemical calculations rationalized the fine and hyperfine interactions of this simple fluorooxyl radical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Earlier studies suggested an inverse association between contact allergy and psoriasis, although the results of clinical studies have been inconsistent. Gene expression studies in human contact allergy focusing on immune responses revealed nickel being an inducer of T helper (Th)1/Th17 and some Th22 immune polarization, whereas fragrances were found to promote a Th2‐dominated immune activation. Objectives: To investigate the epidemiological association between contact allergy and psoriasis in a large multicentre cohort and to analyse the sensitization profile to specific allergens in these patients. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patch‐tested patients from 56 departments of dermatology (1996–2015), including 2387 patients with psoriasis and 161 989 control patients. All patients with atopic dermatitis were excluded from both groups. Results: The odds ratio (OR) for contact allergy was calculated to be 0·55 in patients with psoriasis (95% confidence interval 0·50–0·59). Logistic regression analyses with several independent variables indicated a 'protective effect' of having psoriasis for most allergens, independently of age, sex, affected body site and patch test indication. Fragrance mix II (OR 0·36) and lanolin alcohols (OR 0·38) were found to be among the least common allergens in patients with psoriasis. In contrast, the frequency of contact dermatitis to nickel was only marginally affected in patients with psoriasis compared with controls (OR 0·75). Conclusions: The inverse association between psoriasis and allergic contact sensitization is likely to be not exclusively mediated by psoriasis itself. The polarization of the activated immune response by specific allergens may influence the occurrence and significance of contact allergies in underlying immune‐mediated diseases, eventually even beyond the skin. What's already known about this topic? Earlier studies suggested an inverse association between contact allergy and psoriasis, although the results have been inconsistent. What does this study add? Our findings revealed a significantly lower overall risk for contact sensitization in individuals with psoriasis.These results lend further support to the potential role of allergen‐specific immune polarization in contact dermatitis. Linked Comment:  Erfurt–Berge. Br J Dermatol 2019; 180:256–257. Plain language summary available online Respond to this article [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]