Biophysical assessment of atopic dermatitis skin and effects of a moisturizer

Abstract

Our findings demonstrate that the moisturizer we used changes some biophysical parameters when applied to atopic skin. In addition, a technique based on electrical impedance seems to give valuable information in atopic skin studies, especially the effects of moisturizers.

Clinical Effectiveness of Moisturizers in Atopic Dermatitis and Related Disorders: A Systematic Review

“…In three uncontrolled studies in AD patients, a combination of glycerin and ceramide decreased TEWL by 20-30 % [14,49]. In contrast, a smaller study in AD patients failed to show any effects of glycerin plus propylene glycol on TEWL [45].…”

“…Most of these studies were controlled, but five were of a simple before-after design [14,18,47,49]. Seven small studies (n = 12-44) focused on AD [14,16,19,45,46,49], and five studies of more varied sizes (n = 19-336) addressed irritant hand dermatitis [18,24,25,47,48]. In eight studies, emollient treatment reduced TEWL significantly, by 1.7 to 12.2 g/ m 2 h. The remaining four studies failed to show significant effects, but the point estimates in two of them [19,46] were clearly in favor of moisturizer treatment, and the non-significant results may to some extent represent a lack of statistical power.…”

“…As mentioned above (see Sect. 3.2.2.3), moisturizers containing combinations of glycerin and propylene glycol have shown diverging effects on TEWL [45,48,52].…”

“…A total of 12 studies, including a total of 854 subjects, have investigated whether moisturizers reduce TEWL when compared with no treatment [14,16,18,19,24,25,[45][46][47][48][49] (Table 3). Most of these studies were controlled, but five were of a simple before-after design [14,18,47,49].…”

Utility and limits of noninvasive methods in dermatology

“…Therefore, corneometry and evaporimetry are very important for the control of various physio-pathological events and as parameters to assess the effects of products designed to restore normal hydration, that is, so-called moisturizers. Monitoring of skin surface homeostasis is particularly important in conditions characterized by xerosis and alterations of the barrier function, such as atopia and atopic-like states [26].…”