Spreading your own 'good bacteria' on your skin could help treat eczema

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-06-17 01:00

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Spreading a person's own good bacteria back onto their skin in larger numbers may help treat eczema, according to A clinical trial from the USA. Previous research has shown that during flares of eczema some types of bacteria, specifically Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, dominate the skin. The researchers were keen to see if adding other bacteria could break the cycle of S aureus taking hold during eczema. They took samples of 'good bacteria' from areas of skin not affected by eczema and grew it in a lab, before reapplying it to the patient's forearms. They found the bacteria treatment was able to safely decrease S. aureus populations on the skin and improve disease severity.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Dermatology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of California, USA

Funder: This study was funded by NIH grant R21AR067547 to Drs Gallo and Hata. Additional support for this work included NIH grants U19AI117673 and U01AI52038 to Drs Gallo and Hata and NIH grants R01AR076082 to Drs Gallo and Nakatsuji.

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