Eczema, which is characterised by itchy, inflamed skin, is renowned for being hard to cure. But a new scientific breakthrough means that we could be one step closer to a definitive cure for eczema, which affects one on four children and often continues in adulthood.
Researchers have found a way of destroying a strain of yeast thought to trigger eczema, without harming healthy skin cells.
A study at Stockholm University focused on a specific skin yeast called Malassezia sympodialis, which often leads to infection in eczema lesions, causing itching, inflammation and redness. The scientists used 21 different anti-fungal peptides to see what affect they had on the yeast. Six were found to kill the yeast without harming healthy skin, meaning a tailored peptide cocktail could be used to kill the fungus that can exacerbate eczema symptoms.
