Assignment #25: Abstract

I am a high school student that attends South Forsyth HS. I am currently in the Honors Mentorship Program and I have been interning at Sunshine Pediatrics with Dr. Chunduri for almost a full school year. My AP Capstone Research project was on researching the connection and correlation between atopic dermatitis, Allergic Rhinitis (allergies), and Asthma. After thorough and extensive research, I found two main theories that explains the connection: Genetics and the Atopic March. I interviewed my mentor Dr. Chunduri, who is a pediatrician at Sunshine pediatrics, of her experience with working with patients that have eczema, allergies and asthma, and what kind of observations she has noticed. She explained that there were many factors that contributed to the connection between the diseases, but genetics would play a big contribution. Genetically, the diseases are connected by several different genes and loci; the specifics have not been specified but research has proven that the diseases are connected through several genes. Also, according to the theory of the atopic march, children who are diagnosed with eczema as an infant are more prone to developing rhinitis and asthma in the future progression of their growth development. Furthermore, there are no 100% guaranteed treatments from preventing the progression from happening, but the chances can be decreased by treating the eczema first as a child.