Indication
As well as being used in leprosy, dapsone can also be used to treat mucous membrane pemphigoid, (an autoimmune blistering disease of skin and mucous membranes), dermatitis herpetiformis and Linear immunoglobulin A dermatosis, (both blistering skin diseases that are effectively treated with a long-time treatment with dapsone), and other skin conditions including lichen planus.
It is also sometimes used to prevent Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in immunosuppressed patients and to treat idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.
It is used prophylactically to prevent Pneumocystis pneumonia and toxoplasmosis in patients unable to tolerate trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole.
Dapsone is also used to treat Brown recluse spider bites. In presumed cases of brown recluse spider bites, dapsone is often used effectively, but clinical trials do not demonstrate similar effectiveness; however, dapsone may be effective at treating many "spider bites" because many such cases are actually misdiagnosed microbial infections.
Oral dapsone was one of the first medications used to treat moderate to severe acne vulgaris, and is still occasionally prescribed for the treatment of severe and abnormal acne (e.g. acne conglobata and acne fulminans). Oral dapsone is generally reserved for cases where conventional treatments for severe acne, such as isotretinoin and first-line antibiotics, are found to be ineffective. In December 2008, a 5% dapsone gel called Aczone was introduced to the prescription market as a topical treatment for moderate to severe acne.. Preliminary reports suggest that topical dapsone is a safe and moderately effective acne treatment.
Dapsone can also used for the treatment of other bacterial skin infections, like (the autoimmune condition) dermatitis herpetiformis.
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