Study finds Acupuncture to reduce itch in patients with Atopic Dermatitis

In a new study published in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, acupuncture (ACU) has been shown to improve itching in people with atopic dermatitis (AD).

There was also a tendency toward less topical corticosteroid (TCS) administration in these individuals as a result of ACU and osteopathic medicine (OM), but no variations in disease severity were found. In addition to TCS, more than half of AD patients utilize complementary medicine, such as ACU and OM, to control their illness. Recent clinical investigations have revealed that ACU is responsible for lowering itch and improving disease severity in Alzheimer's disease. However, there is insufficient data about the potential advantages of OM in adult Alzheimer's disease. As a result, Gabriele Rotter and her colleagues performed this semi-standardized trial to assess the feasibility, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of various therapies in individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

Adult patients with AD were randomly assigned to receive ACU, OM, or no study intervention using computer-generated block randomization, with patients providing written and oral informed permission prior to enrolment. Patients were recruited in the Berlin region using public transportation, digital, advertisements, and print media. Patients had to be between the ages of 18 and 65, have a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and have a Three-Item Severity Score (TIS) of 2 to 7, as well as an average reported itching severity of the skin between 40 and 80 mm on a visual analogue scale. This trial had no stated primary goal; however, general outcomes included disease severity as measured by SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), itching intensity (VAS), and TCS usage.

The key findings of this study were as follows:

1. The study comprised 121 patients with an average age of 31.4 years, 92 of whom were female.

2. Despite the fact that the adjusted mean SCORAD across all groups was similar, the scientists discovered a clinically significant difference in VAS itching between the ACU and control groups, and the responders by VAS itching analysis suggested that ACU and OM were preferred over the control group.

3. TCS usage also decreased in both treatment groups compared to controls. Aside from that, no further significant variations in ACU or OM were identified as compared to the controls.

In conclusion, future RCTs with a larger sample size and more intervention sessions should look at the effectiveness of ACU and/or OM for itching, TCS usage, and subjective skin condition, even in individuals with severe Alzheimer's disease.

Reference:

Rotter, G., Ahnert, M. W., Geue, A. V., Icke, K., Binting, S., Tissen‐Diabaté, T., Roll, S., Ortiz, M., Reinhold, T., Kass, B., Staab, D., Pfab, F., Willich, S. N., & Brinkhaus, B. (2022). Acupuncture and Osteopathic Medicine for Atopic Dermatitis – a Three‐armed Randomized Controlled Explorative Clinical Trial. In Clinical and Experimental Dermatology. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/ced.15340