A statistical study on in vivo sorption and desorption of water in ichthyosis vulgaris

Experiments on the variation of electrical conductance on sorption and desorption of water were performed on the skin of 34 subjects: 17 ichthyosis vulgaris patients and 17 normal subjects, matched for age and gender, under different ambient conditions. An exponential model of the form ft = theta oe theta t, where ft denotes fractional conductance at time t, describes the process of desorption with high accuracy. The parameter theta, identifiable as the rate of desorption, is significantly different between the ichthyotic and normal populations. The study discusses the impaired barrier function of the ichthyotic skin.