Faculty Opinions recommendation of Quantitative assessment of combination bathing and moisturizing regimens on skin hydration in atopic dermatitis.

Objectives. Among Traditional Korean Medicine approaches, needle-embedding therapy is used in various fields and consistently studied; however, there have been no clinical studies of the treatment of adult atopic dermatitis (AD) with needle-embedding therapy. Thus, there is a need to investigate the effects of needle-embedding therapy for treatment of AD. This study was performed to identify possible effects of needle-embedding therapy at Quchi acupoint (LI11) on AD and to compare these effects with those of acupuncture therapy. Methods. A total of 14 participants were enrolled in this study. Participants received acupuncture or needle-embedding treatments for 4 weeks and then were followed for an additional 2 weeks because of safety assessment. The participants were divided into 2 groups: the acupuncture group, receiving treatment at Quchi acupoint (LI11) 3 times per week, and the needle-embedding group, receiving treatment at Quchi acupoint (LI11) once per week. The groups were compared on the basis of the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index, Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL), skin hydration, and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) at baseline and 1 week after treatment was completed (5th week). Results. The SCORAD index, TEWL, Skin hydration, and DLQI at 1 week after treatment were significantly improved in both groups (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences between the acupuncture and needle-embedding groups in any of the main evaluation indices (p>0.05). The study participants received a total of 84 acupuncture treatments or 28 needle-embedding treatments. No adverse events occurred during the study period. Conclusions. Based on changes in the SCORAD index, TEWL, skin hydration, and DLQI value, we found that both needle-embedding and acupuncture treatments at the Quchi acupoint (LI11) were effective in decreasing the symptoms of AD and exhibited similar therapeutic effects, which suggests that needle-embedding treatment may be more clinically convenient than acupuncture, with longer effects and fewer treatments.

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Effect of Topically Applied Wikstroemia dolichantha Diels on the Development of Atopic Dermatitis-Like Skin Symptoms in Mice

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11040914 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 914 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jonghwan Jegal ◽

No-June Park ◽

Tae-Young Kim ◽

Sangho Choi ◽

Sang Woo Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atopic Dermatitis ◽

Barrier Function ◽

Immunoglobulin E ◽

Skin Barrier ◽

Skin Lesions ◽

Transepidermal Water Loss ◽

Skin Hydration ◽

Interleukin 4 ◽

Skin Barrier Function ◽

Skin Symptoms

Plants of the genus Wikstroemia are traditionally used to treat inflammatory diseases like bronchitis and rheumatoid arthritis. In the present study, the anti-atopic effects of an EtOH extract of Wikstroemia dolichantha (WDE) on oxazolone- and DNCB (2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene)-induced dermatitis in mice were investigated. Both ears of BALB/c mice were exposed to oxazolone, and dorsal skins of SKH-1 hairless mice were sensitized with DNCB to induce acute eczematous atopic skin lesions. 1% WDE was applied daily to oxazolone- and DNCB-induced AD mice for two or three weeks, respectively. Total IL-4 and IgE concentrations in serum, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin hydration were assessed. High-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) was used to determine the composition of WDE. Dermal application of 1% WDE grossly and histopathologically improved oxazolone- and DNCB-induced AD skin symptoms. Epidermal thickness and mast cell infiltration were significantly lower in animals treated with WDE than in vehicle controls. Furthermore, in addition to reducing DNCB-induced increases in serum IL-4 (interleukin 4) and IgE (immunoglobulin E) levels, WDE also decreased TEWL and increased skin hydration (indicative of improved skin barrier function). The four flavonoids taxifolin, aromadendrin, padmatin and chamaejasmine were tentatively identified in WDE by HPLC-DAD/QTOF-MS. The above results show WDE protected against oxazolone- and DNCB-induced AD in mice by down-regulating the TH2-associated cytokine IL-4 and improving skin barrier function and suggest WDE might be useful for the management of atopic dermatitis.

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