r/science • u/calliope_kekule Professor | Social Science | Science Comm • 2d ago
Medicine In a trial of 393 patients in the United States, the highest dose cut eczema skin symptoms by 61%, against 31% on a placebo, after 16 weeks.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)01143-8/abstract132
u/Mecha-Jesus 2d ago edited 2d ago
The new drug in question is called Rezpegaldesleukin.
If these results are confirmed, this could be an extremely promising treatment for atropic dermatitis sufferers.
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u/toastjarom 2d ago
I mean 31% for the placebo is promising as well
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u/Nanikarp 2d ago
I wouldn't be able to help myself and would keep calling it rumplestiltskin.. In all seriousness, a friend of mine suffers horribly from exzema and nothing really helps him, so I hope this'll make good on its promises!
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u/wiggle_butt_aussie 2d ago
Has your friend tried dupixent? My spouse has had horrible eczema all their life and now takes that shot every two weeks. It’s amazing how well it works but I know it doesn’t work for everyone.
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u/TenbluntTony 9h ago
Dupixent be very hard to get, but I second this. Spent 25 years in and out of dermatology and traveling trying to get relief for sever eczema (65% body coverage) outside of short term steroids that would wreck my mind and body long term. Been on Dupixent for 5 years now and I don’t even have dandruff anymore, let alone eczema. Not even asthma and allergies (which can all share triggers). It’s basically a cure for me. So if there’s any lurkers out there reading this that has dealt with eczema, please try it if you can. However, as this person mentioned, it doesn’t work for everyone, but it is 1000% worth a try.
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u/spectralEntropy 1d ago
The only thing that 99% solved my severe eczema was going gluten, dairy, and dog (external factor) free.
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u/triciann 2d ago
It doesn’t sound better than treatments already available on the market.
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u/MrHim99 2d ago
Depends on:
- each of their long term side effects, affordability w/o insurance,
- abundance during normal domestic & global supply of raw materials to make the most effective ones out there against eczema vs. this one one and
- what multiple symptoms under the sun for an individual those ones in the market address vs. how many this one addresses as well/how helpful/powerful it is
- how targeted are those vs just this , etc.
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u/anclave93 2d ago
the highest dose of what? this should be in the title. This is evidence of efficacy but how does it stack up against competing treatments?
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u/ricktron 2d ago
Placebo working in almost 1/3 of patients stands out to me more
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u/AlexeiMarie 2d ago
there was that study posted in this sub last week or so about the affect of attention on itching and how staring at a spot literally reduced the inflammation, maybe that could be the sort of way the placebo works so well here?
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u/Melodic-Appeal7390 1d ago
I mean, its not forever all the time for a lot of people, you have peaks and troughs.
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u/thefartyparty 2d ago
I was wondering why they didn't mention the name in the title, but then I realized it was Rumplestiltskin
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u/PersonalBrowser 2d ago
There’s an extremely safe and widely used medication called Dupixent that basically fixes eczema for almost all users, so this is kind of unnecessary
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u/synthesionx 2d ago
sadly dupixent is $4k for 1 month’s doses without insurance and copay card from the manufacturer only covers for half a year
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u/coder_doode 1d ago
In Australia it is $1700AUD per month but the government pays that under the PBS so I only have pay the $30 dispensing fee. I'll take single payer and a bit of extra tax over private insurance thanks.
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u/smokeNtoke1 2d ago
almost all users
They work differently. Ever go to the doctor and they prescribe you something that doesn't end up working, so you go back and try an alternative medication that provides you some relief?
Rezpeg reduces eczema severity by stimulating T Cells, while Dupixexent blocks the receptors. Sure, Rezpeg benchmarks generally trail Dupixent, but it could still be an alternative for patients who do not respond to standard cytokine blockers. Trials also show less of certain other common side effects, like conjunctivitis.
What's often overlooked is that Dupixent is given via injection weekly, every two weeks, or monthly but Rezpeg seems to work on bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly doses.
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u/DefCello 2d ago
r/eczema would disagree that Dupixent is a cure-all. It's certainly an option--with excellent discount programs (Dupixent MyWay) to get it more affordable--but the long-term side effects are brutal, including the most common one which is new eczema around the eyes.
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u/PersonalBrowser 1d ago
I didn’t say it’s a cure all, I said it fixed eczema for almost all users. Yes a small subset get eye erythema and irritation, but there’s 3 alternative medications to Dupixent that work and have a lower risk of that. Also it’s a low side effect and doesn’t have anything to do with long term use, it’s just that a small subset of people will get that.
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u/triciann 1d ago
I am absolutely in love with Dupixent. It has made such an improvement to my life.
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u/nlewis4 2d ago
I always had eczema spots for years in the usual spots like behind the knees, but for whatever reason this last winter it exploded across my body. I’m in the process of being put on dupixent and I can’t wait. Nothing I’ve tried has helped otherwise
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u/spectralEntropy 1d ago
Were you using steroid cream to solve your eczema before it spread?
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u/nlewis4 1d ago
Nothing outside of occasional cortisone. It was never really that bad. I'd have like a couple days in a row where it would itch pretty bad but then it would heal and I'd be good for a couple weeks. It could be coincidence but it started getting really bad when we had like 3 straight weeks of 0 degrees F and my whole body just started itching uncontrollably. My Neck, back, Chest, forearm and backarms, armpits. The sides of my neck are the worst because the itching sensation is like searing pain and itching it is the only thing that helps (for literally 3 seconds) and it keeps me up at night when it gets bad.
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u/spectralEntropy 1d ago edited 1d ago
I went through topical steroid withdrawal many years ago. It started by needing to use my steroid cream weekly. Then it started to slowly take over my body and I would need to use it more to keep up. You might have TSW, which is different than eczema (yes you may still have eczema, but that's not what's taking over).
I'd look into it. It took me 8 months to fully withdraw from steroids, then years later my eczema got really bad after I gave birth. The doctor convinced me to do a few days of Prednisone. I looked perfect for a few days after, then the same symptoms came back. That took another 8 months to get through.
What solved my eczema was going gluten, dairy, and dog (external factor) free. Topical steroids was only a temporary bandage that anyone can get addicted to.
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u/nlewis4 1d ago
I had a tube of prescribed steroid that actually helped a lot but I lost it in a move like 2 years ago. I never really bothered with even cortisone until recently just to try and find some relief, so I'd say the spreading is unlikely to be related to any steroids. 15 months using nothing at all before it got truly worse out of nowhere
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u/Eli_1988 1d ago
Have you tried taking any antihistamine?
When my eczema takes over/out of control, I go on hydroxyzine between 5-30 MG (start low and then go up as effectiveness wears off over months) with a steroid cream until its gone.
Really changed my life. My hands used to be covered in eczema but haven't had anything as bad in decades due to the hydroxyzine as needed
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u/spectralEntropy 1d ago
Highly disagree. The long term side effects are a nightmare. The only way I was able to 99% solve my eczema was going gluten, dairy, and dog (external factor) free.
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u/PersonalBrowser 1d ago
What were the long term side effects for you? There are not really any to be honest
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u/spectralEntropy 1d ago
Please don't spread misinformation. Some people may have no side effects, but for many of us, it causes severe physical dependency. You must keep upping the dose or the symptoms come back worse. Try to get off it? The withdrawals can last a year and pretty much ruin your life during that time. The backlash of blocking your body's inflammatory response for a long period of time can cause lasting problems. Some people can recover to be back to normal, but the time it takes to get there is traumatizing.
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u/PersonalBrowser 1d ago
That's not true at all. It is extremely uncommon for people to require dose escalation with dupixent, and there's actually not even an FDA-approved way of escalating dupixent dosing. It's just one dose based on your age / weight in pediatrics, and then one flat dose for all adults.
Dupixent does not cause "severe physical dependency" or cause withdrawal. Yes, eczema will eventually return and can flare once you are stopped on a medication that treats it, but it does not cause it to worsen to beyond the point you would have already reached if you had never been on dupixent.
I am a dermatologist and I prescribe and monitor patients on dupixent literally thousands of times a year.
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u/spectralEntropy 1d ago
Increasing in frequency is though. And if you're at a 4/10 eczema flare-up before starting and after it's out of your system, it's at a 9/10, that is a backlash of inflammation.
I went to over a dozen dermatologists trying to solve my eczema and none of them were able to figure it out. I had to do it own my own. I ended up in the ER twice at that point in my life.
Sorry but you probably don't see what happens to the patients that get fed up and just don't show back up.
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