Rare skin diseases are generally defined as serious life-threatening, progressive chronic diseases of the skin that occur extremely rarely (i.e., 5 in 10,000 people are affected). More than 80% are hereditary. In most cases, late diagnosis and the lack of therapeutic strategies also contribute to severe disease progression. Therefore, new therapeutic options are urgently needed and with them knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of disease development.

The aim of this project is to better understand disease mechanisms and to identify new pathways and drug targets that will improve patient care or therapy. In order to investigate the mechanisms of disease development, it is necessary to isolate biological material, i.e. blood and affected skin tissue from patients. For this purpose, adults 18 years of age and older with a congenital rare skin disease are included. We take blood and (lesional) skin biopsies from patients to perform immunoprofiling, as well as cell biological studies with the patient's cells. The risk for the patients is low, as only peripheral blood and skin biopsies are taken. Potential risks include bruising and pain as well as infection, postoperative bleeding, wound infection or delayed wound healing, pain, and scarring.

The samples are pseudonymized and stored with the pseudonym only. Cells and skin samples are only preserved with the prior consent of the patient.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age of 18
• rare disease is known or suspected
• patent consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• none

Patients suffering from rare genodermatoses.