Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have successfully treated patients with moderate to severe eczema using a rheumatoid arthritis drug recently shown to reverse two other disfiguring skin conditions, vitiligo and alopecia areata. The study is evidence of a potential new era in eczema treatment, they report. Eczema (atopic dermatitis) is a chronic condition that causes severe itching and leaves the skin red and thickened. It can adversely affect sleep and quality of life.
Standard treatments, such as steroid creams and oral medicines, commonly fail to relieve symptoms in patients with moderate to severe eczema. Based on current scientific models of eczema biology, assistant professor of dermatology Dr. Brett Kinghypothesized that a drug approved for rheumatoid arthritis, tofacitinib citrate, would interrupt the immune response that causes eczema. In the new study, King and his…
