When I was born, I had eczema, a painful inflammation of the skin, inherited from my grandfather. As the exact cause of eczema is unknown, there is no cure yet. My eczema was very severe; I had blisters, cracks, and oozings. At night, the constant itchiness kept me awake, and, in the day, I was often bullied because of my skin. My friends in kindergarten and elementary school were horrified because they thought it was infectious. I always explained to them, but that didn’t calm their fears, so I became a somewhat withdrawn child. Later, I realized that not talking to people would not prevent the problem, so I became optimistic and outgoing. I was also helped by Dr. Sang Hyup Lee, who took care of my eczema and consulted about my worries. He consoled me and told me, “Never feel disappointed about yourself. You have definite strength. You just have to look into yourself and feel confident.” He also complimented me on my patience and self-control.
I still have eczema, allergies, and scars, but I don’t …show more content…
Even though scientists need more data to confirm that gene therapy will cure these diseases, the results gave hope to many people who have genetic retinal diseases. Having suffered all my life from eczema, a genetic disease caused by inherited skin barrier deficiency, I wondered whether gene therapy could potentially cure eczema, so I researched about it. I learned that the absence of Ctip2 in the genes, a protein that is vital for skin lipid metabolism and protective barrier formation, causes eczema. Scientists must also develop a delivery system that does not harm other healthy cells and only targets the correct abnormal cells, which is very arduous. If we understand the cause of eczema, we could personalize treatments and develop new