Relief and Hope for Painful Hand Eczema, With Linda Stein Gold, M.D.
Dermatologist Linda Stein Gold, M.D., highlights how hand eczema affects work, family and confidence — and why this new treatment is a breakthrough.
By
Lana Pine
| Published on September 18, 2025
2 min read
For the millions of adults living with chronic hand eczema, the impact goes far beyond skin symptoms. Linda Stein Gold, M.D., a dermatologist at Henry Ford Health, described how the condition can profoundly affect daily life, from professional opportunities to personal connections.
“We are judged in society by the way we look, and we’re certainly judged by our hands,” she said. “If your hands are a little bit bloody, they’re a little bit cracked, they’re kind of flaky…you’re automatically put in a bad position.”
She explained how patients struggle with simple but meaningful activities — shaking hands at work, making dinner at home or giving their child a bath — because of the pain, itching and visible irritation.
On July 23, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved delgocitinib (Anzupgo) cream, the first treatment specifically indicated for adults with moderate to severe chronic hand eczema.
Affecting an estimated 10% of adults worldwide, this condition has long been managed with topical corticosteroids, which are designed for short-term use and can cause side effects like skin thinning when used repeatedly.
The approval was based on the DELTA 1 and DELTA 2 Phase 3 clinical trials, where significantly more patients achieved treatment success with delgocitinib compared with placebo. In DELTA 1, 20% of patients reached the study’s primary end point versus 10% on vehicle cream, while in DELTA 2, 29% achieved success compared with 7% on vehicle. These outcomes underscore the drug’s potential to change the standard of care.
For Stein Gold, the significance extends beyond clinical results. “To have something that can help get this under control in a safe and effective way, I think is really important,” she emphasized.
With Anzupgo now approved, patients finally have a treatment designed for their unique challenges — offering both relief and renewed hope.
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