Novel Unconventional Therapeutic Approaches to Atopic Eczema

Abstract

Atopic eczema is a chronic, recurrent, multifactorial skin disease, and, accordingly, there are numerous therapeutic options for its symptomatic treatment. Conventional medications are however often unsatisfactory for many patients because of adverse effects on long-term use. For this reason, patients often readily welcome unconventional therapeutic approaches. We present here a selected number of such treatment modalities, namely γ-linolenic acid, Chinese herbal tea, diets eliminating allergens, pseudoallergens, metal salts and sodium, and bioresonance. When stringent scientific criteria are applied in the evaluation of such study results, none of the reviewed alternative treatments provides unequivocal, convincing evidence of its efficacy, even when double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are available. With Chinese herbal tea, potentially serious adverse effects should be considered as well. Any new type of unconventional therapy should thus be thoroughly evaluated and shown to be equal or superior to conventional treatments with regard to both efficacy and tolerability before it is recommended for use in clinical practice.

Availability of Research Results on Traditional Chinese Pharmacotherapy

“…More and better designed trials and possibly a systematic review of literature on TCP available in the Western world are needed. Wang [98] Chen [94] without name [93] Shen [92] Shi [67] Jiang [62] Wu [105] Hu [106] Liao [107] Fang [108] Li [68] Drabaek [64] Drabaek [63] Li [78] Hsieh [77] Worm [49] Ramgolam [38] Fung [48] Armstrong [47] Koo [46] Sheehan [44] Sheehan [43] Latchmann [42] Sheehan [40] Sheehan [41] Atherton [39] Batey [25] Akbar [24] Chen [14] Hirayama [13] Caceres [80] Scaglione [72] (continued) Chen [86] Liang [83] Hale [82] Chen [20] Tatsuta [19] Hou [17] Lin [6] Lin [12] Charuwichitratana [71] Sangkitporn [69] Davis [33] Hirata [32] Ding [30] Wang [28] Ramgolam …”

Culture Conditions stimulating high γ-Linolenic Acid accumulation by Spirulina platensis

“…The Fatty acid, Gamm-linolenic acid (GLA) is a precursor for prostaglandin E1, an important biologically-active compound necessary for reducing inflammation and blood pressure. Further, GLA is also known for treating various conditions including rheumatoid arthritis (21), eczema (22) and premenstrual syndrome (20). This fatty acid is found primarily in plant-based oils.…”

Fatty acid composition of seeds of yellow, red, and black colored Prunus mahaleb fruits in Turkey

“…In a previous study conducted on mahaleb seed, the main fatty acids were found to be oleic and linoleic acid [3], in agreement with our present study. A high content of linoleic and linolenic acid (polyunsaturated fatty acids) is favorable for medicinal (profilaxis and treatment of arteriosclerosis, eczema) and nutritional application since these components, particularly linolenic acid, are responsible for cardioprotective, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial activities [5][6][7][8].Palmitic (16:0), stearic (18:0), and palmitoleic (16:1 ω7c) acids detected in all samples were between (7.38-8.66%), (1.34-3.17%), and (0.45-0.51%), respectively. Ozgul-Yucel [3] reported that mahaleb seeds had 4.60% palmitic, 1.80% stearic, and 0.30% palmitoleic acid, which was close to our results.…”