Dermatitis is also known as eczema that is an inflammation of the skin that typically causes itchiness, redness, and a rash. In the cause of short duration, there may be small blisters, while the long-term effects are thickening of the skin. The area of the infection can be either a small area or it can affect the entire body. Dermatitis also includes Atopic Dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, irritant contact dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, and stasis dermatitis. The cause of these infections is still unknown. The cause may be a combination of allergy and poor venous return. The type of the infection can depend on the person’s history and the type of skin and the location of the rash.
A Drug Named Upadacitinib Can Ease Eczema
The treatment for these rashes can include moisturizers and steroid creams. The steroid creams are usually mid to high strength and used less than two weeks which also might have some side effects. Antibiotics are also required in case of skin infections. The research has found that it affects about 10-30% of people in the United States of America, and most affected people are males. Allergic contact dermatitis affects about 7% of people at some point in their lifetime. It is about twice in males when compared with females.
As per the reports, a pill called Upadacitinib is already approved for treating rheumatoid arthritis can also ease the pain of eczema. In the two-phase clinical trial, patients with moderate and severe eczema showed rapid and significant improvements after taking the mentioned drug, reported to the researchers at Mount Sinai in New York City. These clinical trials were funded by the dug’s maker, AbbVie Inc., and included about 1,700 people with inflammatory skin diseases. The results of these clinical trials were incredible that by the end of week 16, most of the patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis either had 90% disease clearance or 100% of disease clearance, the doctors at Mount Sinai reported to the news.
The doctors also mentioned that they had achieved extremely high clearance rates that bring them closer to clear psoriasis rates. According to the National Eczema Association, people with eczema tend to have an over-reactive immune system because of the substance inside the body or outside the body, which causes inflammation. This inflammation can either be red, itchy, or painful skin symptoms or all of the above; these are the most common symptoms.
As per the reports, eczema affects around 31 million American adults and about 10% to 20% of children. Besides the rapid disease clearance, the itching in the patients also improved from the beginning of the clinical trials, and the maximum effect was found after four weeks and maintained to week 16. It was also mentioned that the patients who received the two highest doses of the drug – 15 milligrams and 30 milligrams had no significant side effects, but there were improvements only. The drug Upadacitinib is already approved and marketed for use against rheumatoid arthritis under the brand name Rinoq. The drug works by blocking the multiple cytokine-signaling pathways p parts of the immune systems that can malfunction and cause eczema.
The researchers also mentioned that injectable biologic drugs are also highly successful in treating patients with eczema when none of the creams works, but their use cannot be stopped and restarted at will because the potential anti-drug will shorten the half-life of the drugs. But this is not true in the case of Upadacitinib, as the research shows that patients were able to start and restart at any time for flexibility which biologics cannot achieve. Biologics were injected to target the specific lymphocytes that are misbehaving, which does not suppress the immune system as some other immunosuppressants tend to do.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.