GPER’s Top 5 Research Breakthroughs of 2024 (and an honorable mention from 2023!)

Eczema science is evolving quickly and last year we benefited from some key research breakthroughs.

Here are our pick’s for the top 5 findings from 2024:

1. Eczema’s cause - it’s everywhere…

What is causing so many children to develop eczema?

An important review article published in the journal Allergy summarized and integrated over 600 published studies that support the theory that the growing prevalence of many chronic diseases, including eczema, is caused by damaged lining (or epithelial barriers) in the body triggered by hazardous substances from air pollution, microplastics, detergents, household cleaners, and food emulsifiers, among other culprits. The important work provides clues for how to prevent eczema in the future. 

2. Hallelujah - A new, safe option for young kids with severe eczema.

Parents have long been reluctant to use topical steroids for eczema, especially in young children, and the current topical options have limited use for more severe eczema where large areas of the skin surface are involved.

This year a study of a new therapy, Tapinarof cream, showed impressive results leading to an approval from the U.S. FDA for patients with moderate to severe eczema down to age 2. 

3. To beat it, eat it. 

We’ve known for some time that if a child eats peanuts early in life (before age 5), she is less likely to develop a peanut allergy. In 2024 a follow up study delivered more good news: in a randomized trial the results demonstrated that peanut consumption, starting in infancy and continuing to age 5 years, led to lasting peanut tolerance into adolescence.

This study shows that introducing peanuts in this critical window leads to long-term prevention of peanut allergy, even if the child later avoids peanuts! Great news for our high-risk eczema kids.

4. Is there an exit? 

Many parents of children taking the injectable drug dupilumab (dupixent) want to know if it can be stopped once adequate symptom control is achieved.

In 2024, two studies helped answer that question. One found that spacing out the doses is possible once symptoms are well controlled (after 1 year of use) and the second suggested that children who obtain disease remission may be able to stop altogether.  

5. A gut reboot

Some research has suggested that the microbes in our gut communicate with the immune system and tune its function. When the microbes are out of balance, inflammatory conditions like eczema arise.

A 2024 study found that replacing the microbes in a person's gut with a “healthy” ecosystem of microbes from another person, or fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), could be a new way to treat moderate-to-severe eczema. The study showed that people who received FMT showed more normal markers of immune function compared to those who didn’t receive the transplant.

6. Staph bacteria’s kryptonite? 

It’s worth mentioning a runner-up study that flew under the radar in 2023!  It found that a specific strain of probiotic – Bacillus subtilis – kills Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in the gut, which may be a reservoir for this bacteria that is often implicated in eczema flare ups.

The study found that adults who took Bacillus subtilis pills for 30 days experienced a 96% reduction in Staph in the gut and a 65% of reduction in the nose. It’s still unclear how eradicating Staph in these areas impacts the skin, but could this be the silver bullet probiotic for eczema that we’ve all been waiting for?

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Global Parents for Eczema Research (GPER) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2015 by parents of children with eczema. Frustrated by the lack of evidence-based information and resources around eczema and eczema treatments, they created GPER in an effort to support eczema research and advocate for evidence-based medical decision-making for parents. Our offerings include support and resources for eczema caregivers, research, and public policy work to improve care and treatments for people with eczema.

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