Action of a silk fabric treated with AEGIS^TM in children with atopic dermatitis: A 3‐month trial

Abstract

Irritation of the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis by contact with rough fibres of synthetic or woollen clothes is well known. Therefore, it has been recommended that patients should wear cotton clothes. However, cotton also consists of rough fibres able to irritate the skin, whereas silk is characterized by smooth fibres without irritating potential. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical effect of Dermasilk- a special silk fabric (sericin-free silk treated with AEGIS AEM5772/5 which has antibacterial properties) - in children with atopic dermatitis. A total of 22 children with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis were recruited for a study period of 3 months. All of them received three different tube-fabrics - Dermasilk, sericin-free silk fabric without AEGIS AEM 5772/5 and cotton, covering the cubital region. Patients were advised to wear the Dermasilk fabric all day long during the whole study period on one arm, whereas the sericin-free AEGIS-free silk tube had to be used during the first 2 wk only on the other arm followed by the use of the cotton tube for the rest of the study period. Evaluation of the local SCORAD score was carried out at the beginning of the study, after 2, 4, 8 and 12 wk. A significant reduction of the local SCORAD index of the Dermasilk covered arm was observed after 4, 8 and 12 wk in comparison with the cotton-covered arm score [median (quartile 1-quartile 3)] 6.5 (5-8) vs. 8 (7-9), p < 0.002; 6 (5.25-7.75) vs. 8 (7-9), p < 0.0001; and 6 (5-6) vs. 8 (7.25-10), p < 0.0001. The use of Dermasilk has a significant beneficial effect in atopic dermatitis because of the non-irritating properties of silk as well as the antibacterial capacity of AEGIS AEM 5772/5.

Scoping systematic review of treatments for eczema

“…The two studies on DermaSilk by Koller and colleagues 338 and Stinco and colleagues 339 reported that there were no adverse events during the study periods. The trial by Fontanini and colleagues 340 did not report information about adverse events.…”

“…[338][339][340] In 2007, Koller and colleagues 338 published a trial comparing DermaSilk arm tubes against ordinary silk arm tubes. Twenty-two children with mild to moderate eczema were included in the trial.…”

Randomised controlled trial of silk therapeutic garments for the management of atopic eczema in children: the CLOTHES trial

“…10,11 To identify RCTs published prior to the CLOTHES trial, we searched the Global Resource of Eczema Trials database. 12 At the time of starting the CLOTHES trial, 14 small RCTs assessing the effects of therapeutic clothing had been published: three RCTs investigated silk clothing [DermaSilk TM (AlPreTec Srl, San Donà di Piave, Italy)]; [13][14][15] two investigated silver-coated textiles; 16,17 three investigated cellulose seaweed fibres with silver; [18][19][20] one investigated cellulose; 21 one investigated an anion textile; 22 two investigated types of ethylene vinyl alcohol fibre; 23,24 one investigated borage oil-coated garments; 25 and one investigated cotton and synthetic fibres. 26 Since the start of the trial, an additional study on chitosan-coated textiles has been published.…”

A Randomized Double-Blind Study to Investigate the Clinical Efficacy of Adding a Non-Migrating Antimicrobial to a Special Silk Fabric in the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis

“…Senti et al[ 13] observed no significant difference between DermaSilk-treated and corticosteroid-treated skin and suggested that this special textile would probably have an efficacy similar to a modern class III topical corticosteroid applied daily for a week. Koller et al[ 14] compared three different tube fabrics: DermaSilk, sericin-free silk fabric without AEGIS AEM 5772/5 and cotton. A significant reduction of the mean local SCORAD index of the DermaSilk-covered arm was observed in comparison with cotton- and AEGIS-free-silk-covered arms.…”