Atopic dermatitis is a chronic remittent skin disease which is characterized by intense pruritus. The aim of the present study was to determine whether patients suffering from atopic dermatitis (AD) in comparison to healthy individuals (HI) exhibit differences regarding perception or pain threshold levels and whether these depend on the gender. In the study 48 individuals suffering from AD and healthy controls were investigated. Half of the individuals in each group were female or male (n=24). Electric stimuli were applied intracutaneously varying in their intensity beginning from 0,02 mA to maximal 3 mA. In each group the perception and pain threshold were determined subsequently. The data shows that both - the perception and the pain threshold levels were significant lower in the AD patient group (n=48) in comparison to the age and sex adapted control group (0.32/0.42 resp. 0.72/0.89). The gender specific evaluation shows that the perception and pain threshold levels were lower in female individuals (perception threshold level: AD 0.29/HI 0.38, pain threshold level: AD 0.67/HI 0.79) compared to age adapted male individuals (perception threshold level: AD 0.35/HI 0.45, pain threshold level: AD 0.78/HI 0.98). Our study shows that the presence of a chronic inflammatory skin disease leads to an alteration of the perception and pain threshold levels. Furthermore gender-specific differences are apparent regarding these threshold levels. Further studies should shed light into the mechanisms which are involved in these observations.