Eczema drug

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), March 18, 2006

A drug originally developed for kidney transplant patients could be used for eczema.

Doctors in the North East found azathioprine, first used in the 1960s to help the body accept a transplanted kidney, helps clear up eczema.

Until now, when strong steroid creams have failed to help, there has been no alternative. A three-month trial with 63 adults showed successful results on patients who had previously tried other treatments.

Lindsay Dodds, of Blakelaw, Newcastle, who took part said: "My eczema disappeared in a couple of months. It was the first time I'd been clear since I was a child."