There is an increasing awareness that air pollution may increase the risk of development and exacerbation of dermatological diseases. The harmful impact of airborne pollutants on skin diseases might be derived from different pathomechanisms including skin barrier dysfunction, oxidative damage, immune stimulation, and dysbiosis.
Trimethylamine (TMA) is a universal air pollutant as well as active molecule produced by microbiota. So far, TMA and its metabolites were evaluated in cardiovascular disorders. Although, their harmful pleiotropic effects may also affect skin.

Therefore, the aim of this project is to examine the role of trimethylamine (an air pollutant and gut microbiota-derived metabolite) in different inflammatory diseases, namely psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. In vitro studies evaluate the role of different TMA concentrations on T lymphocytes activation, proliferation, and cytokines synthesis. Role of saliva as an additional source for TMA concentration assessment will be also studied.

Our data might yield a new insight into the role of exposome in inflammatory diseases pathogenesis, which contributes to development of novel therapeutic strategies.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is characterized by a progressive miniaturization of hair follicles caused by androgens in genetically susceptible women and men. Menopause is a critical stage of female reproductive ageing and health, and it is defined as the permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from the loss of ovarian follicular activity. Skin and hair involvement often receive less attention than other menopausal symptoms despite having a significant negative effect on quality of life. Moreover, depressive and anxiety symptoms are more common during postmenopausal stage. The hormone replacement therapy is not indicated for skin and hair symptoms alone due to the low risk–benefit balance.

The aims of our study are (i) to evaluate the impact of menopause on the severity of AGA, (ii) to investigate the clinical and trichoscopy pattern of AGA in post-menopausal female (iii) to evaluate the impact of menopause on QoL, depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with AGA and (iv) to compare AGA clinical and trichoscopy pattern and QoL, anxiety and depressive symptoms in those treated with hormone replacement therapy versus those not treated in a real world setting.