The Effect of Glycerine and Urea on Dry Skin in Atopic Dermatitis
The big idea:
Moisturising creams are useful treatment adjuncts in atopic eczema and have beneficial effects in the treatment of dry, scaly skin. This is as moisturising creams occlude the skin and contain humectants (most commonly urea, lactic acid, PCA and glycerine) to increase its water content.
What the study asked:
The study aimed to investigate whether glycerine and urea in moisturising creams actually demonstrate possible differences in mechanism and effects when it comes to hydrating atopic dermatitis skin.
Explanation of key terms:
Double-blind study:
A type of clinical trial in which neither the participants nor the researcher knows which treatment or intervention participants are receiving until the clinical trial is over.
Transepidermal water loss:
A measurement that represents the amount of water that escapes from the stratum corneum (outermost layer of the skin) per area of skin.
Skin capacitance:
Values are related to the moisture content of the tissue.
Placebo:
Medicine or treatment intended to appear genuine to its recipient, but which has no pharmaceutical effect.
Occlude:
To close up and block off (in this case, to reduce water loss).
Humectant:
Water-absorbing substance.
What the study did:
Patients with atopic dermatitis were treated for 30 days with a moisturiser in a randomised, parallel and double-blind fashion.
Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin capacitance were assessed instrumentally, and changes in the dryness of the skin were assessed by the dermatologist.
What the study found:
After treatment for 30 days, a significantly lower TEWL was found in the area treated with urea compared to the area treated with glycerine.
No difference was found between the glycerine treatment and the placebo treatment.
No difference between the two areas was detected using skin surface capacitance measurements.
What this means for eczema:
The results in the present study suggest that with regard to improvements in skin barrier function in dry atopic akin, suitable formulations containing urea might be superior to glycerine-containing emulsions.
Link to study:
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