Comparison of Lindioil (Indigo Naturalis Oil Extract) Ointment to Protopic® Ointment 0.1% in Treating Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic Dermatitis Clinical Trial

Official title:

Comparison of the Efficacy and Safety of Lindioil (Indigo Naturalis Oil Extract) Ointment to Protopic® (Tacrolimus 0.1%) Ointment in Treating Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized, Evaluator-blind, Crossover, Active-Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03614221
• Other study ID #: MOST107-2320-B-182A-002 -MY3
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: June 3, 2019
• Est. completion date: December 6, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: February 2023
• Source: Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The aims of this study are:

1. Compare the efficacy of Lindioil ointment and Protopic® ointment in treating atopic dermatitis.

2. Compare the safety of Lindioil ointment and Protopic® ointment in treating atopic dermatitis.

3. Compare the time to relapse after ceasing of treatment of Lindioil ointment and Protopic® ointment.

4. Compare the change of skin microbiome before and after Lindioil ointment and Protopic® ointment treatment.

Description:

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by itchiness. Topical corticosteroids are typically used to treat AD. However, many patients have concerns about the safety of long-term use, and seek alternative therapies such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In TCM, indigo naturalis has been used to treat various infectious and inflammatory skin diseases for hundreds of years. The investigate also found that the results of indigo naturalis ointment treatment in other trial were comparable to the results of calcineurin inhibitor (such as Tacrolimus) treatment, and would like to verify this assertion. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of Lindioil ointment with that of Protopic® (Tacrolimus ointment 0.1%) in treating AD.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 22
• Est. completion date: December 6, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: December 1, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 16 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Between 16 and 65 years old, female or male.

2. Chronic or sub-acute atopic dermatitis fulfilling the United Kingdom (UK) diagnostic criteria of atopic dermatitis.

3. Atopic dermatitis involving 3-40% of BSA at screening and baseline.

4. An IGA score of 2 (mild) to 4 (severe) at screening and baseline.

5. Not supposed to or unwilling to use corticosteroids.

6. Female patients of child-bearing age agree to use effective birth control measures approved by the investigator.

7. Agree to avoid natural and artificial sunlight over-exposure during the study.

8. Willing to comply with study protocol and agree to sign an informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Acute atopic dermatitis or concurrence of viral or bacterial infection on dermatitis lesion(s).

2. A history of topical or systematic hypersensitivity to indigo naturalis, tacrolimus, or the excipient(s) in the ointment(s).

3. Having received systemic therapy (e.g. immunosuppressive agents) within 14 days, or phototherapy (e.g.

ultraviolet B (UVB), psoralen and ultraviolet A (PUVA)) within 42 days before the first application of the study medication.

4. Having used topical therapy (e.g. corticosteroids) for dermatitis within 4 days before the first application of the study medication.

5. Having a significant concurrent disease such as severe uncontrolled chronic disease (e.g., hypertension, diabetes mellitus, metabolic arthritis, hyperthyroidism), psychiatric disease, cancer or AIDS.

6. Having significant abnormal liver or renal function (Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/ Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >3 x upper limit of normal (ULN), creatinine >2.0 mg/dl) or clinically significant abnormal hematological lab result, according to investigator's judgment, on the safety lab test to be performed within 30 days before the baseline visit.

7. Women who are lactating, pregnant or planning to be pregnant during the study.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Atopic Dermatitis
• Dermatitis
• Dermatitis, Atopic
• Eczema

Intervention

Drug:
• Lindioil ointment
Each gram contains 200µg of indirubin. Apply 0.5 g of ointment per 10 cm x 10 cm of affected skin areas twice daily for 6 weeks.
• Protopic ointment 0.1%
Each gram contains (w/w) 0.1% of tacrolimus. Apply 0.1 g of ointment per 10 cm x 10 cm of affected skin areas twice daily for 6 weeks.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Taiwan	Taipei Chang Gung Memorial Hospital	Taipei
Taiwan	Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital	Taoyuan

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Chang Gung Memorial Hospital	Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Taiwan, 

References & Publications (29)

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Lin YK, Chang CJ, Chang YC, Wong WR, Chang SC, Pang JH. Clinical assessment of patients with recalcitrant psoriasis in a randomized, observer-blind, vehicle-controlled trial using indigo naturalis. Arch Dermatol. 2008 Nov;144(11):1457-64. doi: 10.1001/archderm.144.11.1457. — View Citation

Lin YK, Chang YC, Hui RC, See LC, Chang CJ, Yang CH, Huang YH. A Chinese Herb, Indigo Naturalis, Extracted in Oil (Lindioil) Used Topically to Treat Psoriatic Nails: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Dermatol. 2015 Jun;151(6):672-4. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2014.5460. No abstract available. — View Citation

Lin YK, Chen HW, Leu YL, Yang YL, Fang Y, Su Pang JH, Hwang TL. Indigo naturalis upregulates claudin-1 expression in human keratinocytes and psoriatic lesions. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Jan 30;145(2):614-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.11.044. Epub 2012 Dec 7. Erratum In: J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 May 20;147(2):546. Su Pang, Jong-Hwei [added]. — View Citation

Lin YK, Chen HW, Yang SH, Leu YL, Huang YH, Yen HC. Protective effect of indigo naturalis extract against oxidative stress in cultured human keratinocytes. J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Feb 15;139(3):893-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.12.037. Epub 2011 Dec 27. — View Citation

Lin YK, Leu YL, Huang TH, Wu YH, Chung PJ, Su Pang JH, Hwang TL. Anti-inflammatory effects of the extract of indigo naturalis in human neutrophils. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Aug 17;125(1):51-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.06.014. Epub 2009 Jun 25. — View Citation

Lin YK, Leu YL, Yang SH, Chen HW, Wang CT, Pang JH. Anti-psoriatic effects of indigo naturalis on the proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes with indirubin as the active component. J Dermatol Sci. 2009 Jun;54(3):168-74. doi: 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2009.02.007. Epub 2009 Mar 19. — View Citation

Lin YK, See LC, Huang YH, Chang YC, Tsou TC, Lin TY, Lin NL. Efficacy and safety of Indigo naturalis extract in oil (Lindioil) in treating nail psoriasis: a randomized, observer-blind, vehicle-controlled trial. Phytomedicine. 2014 Jun 15;21(7):1015-20. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2014.02.013. Epub 2014 Mar 26. — View Citation

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* Note: There are 29 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	The mean percentage change from baseline to the end of week 6 of Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI) scores (range 0-72), for each of the two 6-week treatment periods.	The Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) is used to measure the disease severity of erythema, infiltration/papulation, excoriation, and lichenification each on a scale of 0 to 3 (none to severe) as well as the percentage of disease area on a scale of 0 to 6 for the 4 body regions: head / neck, upper limbs, trunk and lower limbs. Each body region score is calculated by multiplying the disease severity score by the disease area score and by the multiplier, 0.1 for head/neck, 0.2 for upper limbs, 0.3 for trunk, and 0.4 for lower limbs. The scores are summed to give the total EASI score, ranging from 0 to a maximum 72.	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	Proportion of participants who have achieved a 50%, 75% and 90% improvement in EASI scores (EASI-50, EASI-75 and EASI-90, respectively) at the end of week 6 of each treatment period.	It is defined as at least 50%, 75%, and 90% reduction in EASI score compare to the baseline.	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	Proportion of participants with an Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA, 0-5) score of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear) at the end of week 6 of each treatment period.	Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) is a 6-points scale ranging from 0 (cleared) to 5 (Very severe) for evaluation of the severity of atopic dermatitis.	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	The mean percentage change from baseline to the end of week 6 of the Body Surface Area (BSA, range 0%-100%) affected by AD, for each of the two 6-week treatment periods.	BSA is total body surface area affected by atopic dermatitis, ranging from 0% (none) to 100% (total body surface affected).	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	Number of days until relapse to IGA = 2, after ceasing treatment, for subjects who achieved IGA 0 or 1 at the end of week 6 of each treatment period.	Length of relapse free days after ceasing treatment	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	The change from baseline to the end of week 6 of Numeric Rating Scale for pruritus (NRS, 0-10), for each of the two 6-week treatment periods.	Numeric Rating Scale for pruritus (NRS) is a tool to evaluate itching intensity from 0 (no itch) to 10 (most imaginable itch)	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	The change from baseline to the end of week 6 of Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) for each of the two 6-week treatment periods.	The DLQI is a self-administered 10-item questionnaire, ranges from 0 (best) to 30 (worst); the higher the score, the more quality of life is impaired.	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	Proportion of participants with a Subject's Global Assessment (SGA, 0-6) score of 0 (much better) or 1 (better) at the end of week 6 of each treatment period.	Subject's Global Assessment (SGA) is a self-evaluated the change from baseline of their AD condition as 'much better' (0), 'better' (1) , 'slightly better' (2), 'same' (3), 'slightly worse' (4), 'worse' (5) or 'much worse' (6).	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	The participants' preference of using Lindioil ointment and Protopic® ointment treatment.	Patients who completed the second treatment period will answer which ointment with better efficacy, which with more adverse events, and the adverse event bothering them most.	13 weeks (the end of the second treatment period)
Secondary	The change of skin microbiome before and after Lindioil ointment and Protopic® ointment treatment.	Skin swabs of lesion and non-lesion will be obtained from patient before and after study treatment to analyze skin microbiome.	6-week, 12-week (the end of the second treatment period)