Researchers may have found a promising new treatment for allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) that offers an alternative to corticosteroids and avoids their possible side effects. The research was published in the Mar. 28 issue of Dermatology and Therapy (8(1):111–126).
Working in an experimental model of allergic contact dermatitis, the research team developed a formulation containing BIPxine (a mixture of Rosa moschata and Croton lechleri (antioxidants) and Aloe vera and d-panthenol (moisturizers), and hydroglycolic solutions of disodium cromoglycate (potent free radical scavengers and inhibitors), which suppressed an inflammatory response to the irritant. The cream was found to relieve pruritus, reduced swelling, and protected peripheral nerves in the affected area.
One of the current primary treatments for severe allergic contact dermatitis is the use of corticosteroids. Long-term use of corticosteroids can result in skin atrophy, spider veins, loss of skin colour or corticosteroid-induced acne. They can disrupt the skin’s barrier and lead to adrenal suppression, altered growth, hypertension, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance and cataracts, and they may increase the risk for certain cancers.
The experimental cream successfully treated allergic contact dermatitis in mice, without the side effects of corticosteroids. The new cream works in a different way by preventing or stopping the process that initiates inflammation.
“Now with the new cream, we targeted some of those mechanisms in a relatively less complex condition in the skin, always with translational-enabling goals,” said lead researcher Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Medicine in New Orleans, in a press release.
According to Dr. Bazan, pictured above, more tests are needed to determine the long-term effects of the new formulation. Photo courtesy of Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Medicine.
According to Dr. Bazan, pictured above, more tests are needed to determine the long-term effects of the new formulation. Photo courtesy of Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Medicine.
This project is part of a long collaboration that Dr. Bazan developed with Dr. Ricardo Palacios-Pelaez from Spain on inflammation, immunity, and neurodegenerative diseases.
“While our results are very promising, additional studies are needed to determine the ideal duration of treatment and the most efficacious concentrations of the active components in the test formulations that will best alleviate ACD,” Dr. Bazan concluded.
The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, as well as LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence.
This work is part of Dr. Bazan’s innovative research searching for novel fundamental principles of tissue/organ injury involving inflammation, immunology, genetics and epigenetics. Most of his efforts are focused on responses to damage to the brain and retina and include Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, pain, macular degeneration and traumatic brain injury, but as these findings demonstrate, fundamental discoveries have a broad application.
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