Abstract
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects the growth and development of children. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis has been continually increasing, and this has also been accompanied by rising socioeconomic costs. Interest has been growing in alternative medicine as a means of alleviating the burden of atopic dermatitis. This was a single-center, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled investigator-led clinical trial including 60 atopic dermatitis patients. The participants were classified into an experimental group (30 persons) and a control group (30 persons), who were administered, respectively, socheongryong-tang or a placebo for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks of treatment, the participants visited the trial center again and assess their efficacy and safety. The researchers performed statistical comparisons of the changes in the SCORAD Index, amount and frequency of ointment use, and height and weight to assess the efficacy. To assess the safety, diagnostic tests and vital sign checks were performed at each visit, and the presence or absence of adverse events was observed. As a result, the frequency and the amount of steroid ointment application in both groups increased, but the experimental group showed less tendency (p = 0.081). Results of analyzing the children in the experimental group in relation to growth showed a significantly greater height growth than the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, all study participants did not show any remarkable abnormal signs in the safety evaluation. In conclusion, compared to the control group, the experimental group, who took socheongryong-tang showed a tendency to be less dependent on steroid ointment and statistically significant increase in height.
Highlights
Atopic dermatitis (AD, called atopic eczema) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disorder that is accompanied by itching, is caused by genetic and environmental factors (Nutten, 2015; Otsuka et al, 2017), and is common in infants (Eichenfield et al, 2013)
The seven participants showing differences in the MAST test were all in the experimental group, and showed allergic reactions to garlic, Cladosporium, Alternaria alternata, and dog
The body temperature, SBP, DBP of the children in the experimental group showed a decrease compared to the baseline. This change in thyroidstimulating hormone (TSH) and vital sign was within the normal range, and all study participants did not show any abnormal signs in laboratory tests or vital sign monitoring throughout the study (Table 7)
Summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD, called atopic eczema) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disorder that is accompanied by itching, is caused by genetic and environmental factors (Nutten, 2015; Otsuka et al, 2017), and is common in infants (Eichenfield et al, 2013). Due to the “allergic march”, patients who suffered from AD in infancy are more likely to develop respiratory disorders such as allergic asthma or rhinitis in childhood (Bantz et al, 2014). Several studies on allergic disease have reported that atopic disease affects the growth and development of children. The mechanisms by which allergic diseases impair height growth have not yet been elucidated (Kristmundsdottir and David, 1987), children with a history of respiratory allergy or AD are more likely to be shorter than their peers (Ferguson et al, 1982; Kristmundsdottir and David, 1987; Sant’Anna et al, 1996). There has been growing interest in alternative medicine as a means of reducing the socioeconomic burden of AD. Excluding a study analyzing the growth-promoting ingredients in boyangsungjang-tang (Hong et al, 2012) or studies demonstrating the efficacy of gamisasangja-tang (Park et al, 2015) and taeumjowi-tang (Park et al, 2019) for alleviating AD, there have been hardly any clinical studies demonstrating the efficacy of alternative medicine for AD and growth
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