Lancet
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Azathioprine dosed by thiopurine methyltransferase activity for moderate-to-severe atopic eczema: a double-blind, randomised controlled trial.
Atopic eczema affects 1-2% of adults, and can cause considerable morbidity. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of azathioprine as systemic monotherapy for moderate-to-severe atopic eczema, and the therapeutic importance of the thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) polymorphism (a key determinant of azathioprine-induced myelotoxicity) by using TPMT enzyme activity to establish azathioprine dose. ⋯ Treatment with azathioprine as systemic monotherapy produces clinically relevant improvement in moderate-to-severe atopic eczema that remains active despite optimum therapy with topical corticosteriods. We believe the study of azathioprine as systemic monotherapy for atopic eczema has major advantages, which should allow clarification of the relation between azathioprine effectiveness and metabolite profiles in other inflammatory diseases.