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Alternative Treatments for Atopic Dermatitis: An Update.

American journal of clinical dermatology
April 1, 2019
Katherine Shi et al. (2 authors)
Journal ArticleReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to review new randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on complementary and alternative therapies, including melatonin, for atopic dermatitis (AD) to assess their clinical effects.

Results Summary

The study found preliminary positive clinical effects of melatonin in AD, but there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend its use in therapy. Future studies with larger sample sizes and standardized processes are needed.

Population

Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD).

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (5)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
vitamin E
increase
clinical effects
patients with atopic dermatitis
-
show positive clinical effects
#1
East Indian Sandalwood Oil (EISO)
increase
clinical effects
patients with atopic dermatitis
-
show positive clinical effects
#2
melatonin
increase
clinical effects
patients with atopic dermatitis
-
show positive clinical effects
#3
L-histidine
increase
clinical effects
patients with atopic dermatitis
-
show positive clinical effects
#4
Manuka honey
increase
clinical effects
patients with atopic dermatitis
-
show positive clinical effects
#5
Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic pruritic inflammatory skin disease in which management with topical anti-inflammatory agents during exacerbations remains the mainstay of treatment. With no cure in sight, a significant proportion of patients elect to incorporate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as an adjunct to conventional treatment. Many clinicians find it difficult to provide recommendations as the field covers an extensive number of very disparate therapies, with limited quality evidence to indicate efficacy. Since publication of the last review on this topic in the Journal that compiled and analyzed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on CAMs in 2015, several new studies have surfaced. This update aims to aggregate and review these new data. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Global Resource for EczemA Trials (GREAT) databases for RCTs on complementary and alternative therapies in AD from March 2015 through May 2018, resulting in 15 studies being included in this review. The preliminary results for many treatments such as vitamin E, East Indian Sandalwood Oil (EISO), melatonin, L-histidine, and Manuka honey show positive clinical effects, but there is currently not enough evidence to recommend their use in AD therapy. Future investigative efforts should focus on reproducing some of these studies with a larger sample size whose clinical characteristics and demographics are more reflective of the general AD population, and standardizing the process to produce reliable data.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Administration, CutaneousComplementary TherapiesDermatitis, AtopicDermatologic AgentsHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignSample Size
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy65/10
Quality75/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations19
Citations/Year3.2
Relative Citation Ratio1.43
NIH Percentile63.5%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.50
Weight Score2.18
Normalized Score0.61
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