Last year, several members of Skin & Aging’s staff were enjoying a lunch with S&A Editorial Advisory Board member Ned Ryan, D.O., a dermatologist who practices in the Philadelphia area. Dr. Ryan was discussing how he wishes there was a better way to cast a wider net and detect more allergens when patch testing. As he noted, the T.R.U.E. Test panel of 23 allergens has its limitations.“I’d like a contact dermatitis expert to identify other top allergens that I could use in conjunction with the T.R.U.E. Test,” he explained. And so that thought led to this month’s cover story by contact dermatitis expert Dr. Sharon Jacob, who is the Director of the Contact Dermatitis Clinic at the University of Miami. Dr. Jacob is also the author of the column “Allergen Focus,” which runs monthly in Skin & Aging. A Look at The Issues As Dr. Jacob, and her co-author Tace Steele, B.A., noted in this month’s cover story, the T.R.U.E. Test is believed to only identify an allergen in 24.5% of patients who have allergic contact dermatitis. That leaves a lot of room to wonder what results wider testing would produce.No one list of allergens would suit every patient, of course, but through many hours of research and with limitless enthusiasm, Dr. Jacob and Ms. Steele identified 25 top allergens that they recommend using in conjunction with the T.R.U.E. Test.   They gleaned these top picks from past Allergens of the Year, allergens that have repeatedly landed high up on the North American Contact Dermatitis Group’s prevalence data list, and through their own research and patient encounters. Top Picks at a Glance While I won’t list all of the 25 allergens the authors chose, I’ll give you an idea of what categories they fall under. The 25 allergens identified by Dr. Jacob and Ms. Steele come under 10 different categories. These include: I. CorticosteroidsII. Extended FragrancesIII. Cocamidopropyl BetaineIV. BacitracinV. Extended PreservativesVI. GoldVII. Disperse Blue 106VIII. CainesIX. Benzalkonium ChlorideX. Propylene Glycol.Larisa HubbsExecutive Editorlhubbs@hmpcommunications.com