Eczema Boy: The Final Chapter?

Eczema Boy: The Final Chapter?

INTAKE; [FINAL EDITION]

The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Sept. 12, 2000. pg. Z.06

Thanks to an Effective New Trial Treatment, Our Hero May Have to Hang Up His Mottled Cape

The skin doctor’s office is not a place one typically finds drama. Even I, Eczema Boy–the fearless dermatological wonder [see "The Further Adventures of Eczema Boy," July 11 Health section]–can often nod off in my dermatologist’s waiting room. But on July 7, as I strutted into Arthur Ugel’s office, hysteria broke out. Well, the receptionist’s eyes got wide. I thought she might be about to ask me if I was lost . . . but then she recognized me and her jaw went slack. You could nearly hear her thinking, “Mr. Shaberman, is that you?” And you could almost hear me thinking back, “No, lady, I’m here to collect medical waste.”

The sort-of shock and near hysteria broke out because I wasn’t, well, broken out. I was unscabbed, patchless, de-pussed. . . . Even my eyes weren’t very swollen. After years of suffering the persistent discomfort and disfigurement of eczema, my skin was nearly clear. At one point Ugel gave me one of those sideways guy hugs, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as he showed me off to his staff. He even referred to me as–this is a quote–”debonair.”

June 26 was when my life as Eczema Boy took a dramatic turn. It was then that I began participating in a trial for a new eczema treatment called tacrolimus (product name Protopic), an immunomodulator developed by the pharmaceutical company Fujisawa. Under the supervision of Washington dermatologist Vincenzo Gianelli and Mary McGarvey of nTouch Research, a company that conducts clinical trials for pharmaceutical products, I began applying tacrolimus ointment to my skin twice daily. In about a week, my skin had almost completely cleared up.

Originally developed as a safer alternative to cyclosporin to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients, tacrolimus was put into an ointment for eczema treatment. Phase III trials were completed in March of last year. I am one of 5,600 participants in Phase IIIB open-label trials. FDA approval is possible at the end of this year.

In the earlier trials, tacrolimus improved eczema suffering significantly for 80 percent of participants. Though topical steroids are also effective, they bring serious side effects, including permanent thinning of the skin. Tacrolimus may represent the biggest breakthrough in eczema treatment in 40 years.

Side effects for me have been minor. I had a warm sensation in areas where I applied tacrolimus, but that common symptom was short- lived. Also, the thick ointment is not very pleasant on hot summer days. Participants are asked not to shower for two hours before or after application; this can make the twice-a-day regimen tricky, but a small price to pay for the relief.

So what’s a successfully treated Eczema Boy to do? Maybe it’s to hang up my superhero cape and Spandex suit (the waistband was starting to bind anyway). And without the get-up–or the weeping sores–maybe I’ll no longer scatter rush hour traffic on the Metro. Yes, it’s time I adopt the alter ego of any self-respecting superhero: newspaper reporter.

–Ben Shaberman