News

A new version of Guidelines for treatment and prevention of hand eczema is available for ESCD member’s comments.

The EADV congress marks 30 years of science in the field of dermatology. They have created a highlight website with a selection of content from some of the most exciting presentations given this year. This includes conference summaries, posters, presentations with expert opinions from international experts.

Visit https://eadvhighlights.com/

Registration for the ESCD Congress 2022 is open. The congress takes place 8–10 June 2022 in Amsterdam, in the Conference Centre Beurs van Berlage.

The ESCD provides a forum for experts from around the world to present and discuss cutting-edge issues. The meeting program reflects areas of current scientific and clinical interest in all aspects of contact dermatitis and allergic skin disease. The exhibition space will provide an ideal opportunity for exhibitors to interact with leaders in the field.

You can now submit an abstract for the conference:
https://escd2022.com/abstracts/

Call for abstracts will close on 1 January 2022. There will be opportunities to submit an abstract for both oral and poster presentations.

Full program:
https://escd2022.com

Register for early bird rates:
https://www.mediscon.nl/escd2022/

Look forward to seeing you in Amsterdam in June 2022!
Marie-Louise Schuttelaar
Meeting President of the ESCD Congress 2022

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

Wiley has informed the Executive Committee about some changes to Contact Dermatitis journal in 2022.

They will move to so-called ‘institutional print only’ (IPO) next year. This means that ESCD members can no longer get paper copies of the journal but only digital access. The number of print subscriptions has for years been so low that it is economically unviable. They also want to reduce the impact of print on the environment.

We are aware of the disappointment of many members who have enjoyed reading a paper copy of the journal. However, Wiley plans to set up a new model for ordering print copies through a printer in the US with a substantial society discount for the ESCD members. Details of this arrangement have not yet been decided.

Wishing all of you the very best and welcoming you to the ESCD Congress in Amsterdam 8–10 June 2022

On behalf of the ESCD executive committee,
Kristiina Aalto-Korte
President of the ESCD

Mark writes: “I was appointed as a consultant dermatologist in the UK in 1995 to provide a clinical service for the investigation of contact dermatitis and occupational skin disease and have in excess of 200 peer reviewed publications and have written chapters on irritant, allergic and occupational dermatitis for major dermatology textbooks.

My association with the ESCD is longstanding having given the Niels Hjorth lecture at the first Congress of the society in Brussels, Belgium in 1992 and attended all of the meetings since. In 2016, I was chair of the group organising the meeting in Manchester, UK and hope that all of you that came had an enjoyable time.

I was a member of the executive committee from 2003–14, as variably treasurer and membership secretary. More recently I’ve been a board member of the European Surveillance System of Contact Allergy (ESSCA) and chair of the European Baseline Series Taskforce – both working parties of the society and am on the editorial advisory board of the journal Contact Dermatitis.

I believe that this gives me a good understanding of the workings of our society and if elected would promote the field of cutaneous allergy. I would specifically wish to explore ways of increasing the value of membership to individuals to develop a vibrant, inclusive and interactive society.”

Please note that all members can nominate other candidates. Nominations must be made to the Secretary at least 6 months before the General Assembly (ie 10 December 2021).

Are you a print subscriber of the journal and wonder when a new issue is released?

Wiley have a notification system, watch the video walkthrough below to get reminders sent to your inbox:

Watch instructions

The Executive Committee is delighted to announce the following candidates have been proposed for the forthcoming vacant positions on the Executive:

President Elect – Kristiina Aalto Korte (Finland)

Secretary – Mihaly Matura (Sweden)

Treasurer – Vera Mahler (Germany)

A vote will take place at the General Assemble Meeting at the Milan Congress.

David Orton, Secretary ESCD

By Prof. V Mahler

In the EU, allergen products are defined as medicinal products according to Directive 2001/83/EC. This definition includes allergen products for the in vivo diagnosis of type IV hypersensitivities. However, despite the common legal framework set out by this directive, there is a considerable heterogeneity in the approach on how EU member states are actually regulating allergen products. The Coordination Group for Mutual Recognition and Decentralised Procedures – Human (CMDh) was informed that the increased obligations related to the Pharmacovigilance legislation as well as GMP requirements, combined with limited reimbursement options in some EU Member States have led to a decreasing number of authorised allergens.

It was noted that different regulatory decisions are taken by Member States to allow allergen products on the market (marketed as named patient products vs. marketing authorisation per individual allergen or containing diverse active substances under one combined marketing authorisation). As a result of the regulatory disharmony observed in the EU and related problems thereof, the CMDh has created a drafting group that is now working on the development of proposals for harmonized regulatory approaches for allergen products within the EU.

Due to the complexity of the issues discussed in this group, it is expected that the activities will require some time to result in potential changes in the regulatory framework of allergen products. Current updates on the progress of the drafting group with respect to specific milestones will be referenced in the CMDh Meeting minutes which are publicly available at the CMDh website (http://www.hma.eu/457.html).

Furthermore, the CMDh has requested the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) to discuss the scientific requirements on allergens with lower prevalence. The CHMP agreed for a drafting group to work on a concept paper Minutes of the meeting from December 2016,

On 13 June 2017, 18 ESCD members from 11 European countries met at the VU Amsterdam, very nicely hosted by Thomas Rustemeyer, for a constituting meeting of a new working party. This working party had been suggested and confirmed at the Manchester general assembly in September 2016; subsequently, a call for participation and the first meeting had been organised by the ESCD secretary, David Orton. In the apporox. 2 h of the initial meeting, a brainstorming of different conceptual aspects, but also of actual haptens to be included to, modified, or omitted from, the present European Baseline Series (EBS) were discussed. As an important organisational milestone, Mark Wilkinson, Leeds, UK (s.m.wilkinson@btinternet.com) was elected as working party convener and as vice convener Margarida Gonçalo, Coimbra, Portugal (mmgoncalo@gmail.com).

Preparatory work before the next meeting (11am on 28 November 2017, again at VU Amsterdam) will include refining criteria for inclusion in the EBS, suggesting modifications, also including a more experimental add-on series to the EBS, tested along with it in consecutive patients. The aim is to provide a definite change list for comments by the ESCD membership and ratification at the Milan meeting, 18 to 20 October 2018.

Wolfgang Uter, 4 July 2017

Following a suggestion from the Barcelona general assembly in 2014, and a subsequent agreement with Wiley publishers, the ESCD selects the best paper (among the many excellent contributions appearing … not always an easy choice!) per volume of the journal (Contact Dermatitis), following a standard operating procedure involving the ESCD Council.

Concerning volume 75 of Contact Dermatitis, the paper “Acetophenone azine: a new allergen responsible for severe contact dermatitis from shin pads”, Contact Dermatitis 2016: 75: 106-110 by Dr. Nadia Raison-Peyron, Department of Dermatology, Allergology Unit, Hôpital Saint Eloi – CHU Montpellier, 34295 Montpellier, France, and co-workers had been selected. Congratulations to this important work!

Wolfgang Uter, 4 July 2017