View clinical trials related to Dermatitis, Atopic.
Filter by:Nanocrystalline silver (very small particles of silver) is the active ingredient in Acticoat dressings, which have been approved for the treatment of burns and other wounds. Silver has been used for decades as an effective antimicrobial agent. In animal studies, nanocrystalline silver cream (NPI) has also demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity. Thus, nanocrystalline silver cream is being evaluated in the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis (eczema). Approximately 180 study subjects with a definitive diagnosis of mild to moderate eczema will be enrolled in this study. Subjects will be randomly assigned to treatment with placebo, 0.5% NPI or 1% NPI for the 6-week treatment period. Assessments of treatment effect and safety will be performed weekly. Upon completion of the study, subjects may be eligible for 12 weeks of open-label treatment with 1% NPI.
Cytokine Production Patterns in Patients with Systemic Mastocytosis Compared with Atopic Dermatitis and Healthy Individuals Summary: This study will examine how mast cells (cells involved in allergic reactions) migrate and multiply in the skin of patients with mastocytosis, a condition characterized by too many mast cells in the body. The mast cells tend to multiply in the skin, causing dark, itchy skin spots known as urticaria pigmentosa. This study will determine if the skin of patients with mastocytosis produces chemicals called cytokines that cause mast cells to migrate to the skin and multiply. The findings will be compared with those from normal volunteers and patients with atopic dermatitis, a skin disease characterized by recurrent itchy rash usually seen in people with a family history of allergies. Healthy volunteers, patients with mastocytosis and patients with atopic dermatitis 18 years of age and older may be eligible for this study. Participants will have the following tests and procedures: - Suction blisters - Two to eight small blisters will be raised on the forearm using gentle suction. The fluid in the blisters will be collected with a syringe to study the chemicals produced by the skin. The tops of the blisters may be removed for research. - Template study - Patients with high cytokine content in the blister fluid may have a template study. For this procedure, a plastic block (template) with holes matching the blister sites is placed over the blistered area. The wells of the template are filled with salt water and the fluid is removed with a syringe at 3, 8 and/or 24 hours. Patients are hospitalized for 24 hours for this study. - Skin biopsy - A skin biopsy will be done to correlate cytokine levels with the number of mast cells in the skin. An area of skin is numbed with an anesthetic and a small circular area about the size of a pencil eraser is removed, using a sharp cookie cutter-type instrument. - Blood draw - About 4 tablespoons of blood will be drawn to compare the chemicals in the blood with those in the blister fluid. The blood will also be analyzed for a complete blood count, clotting factors and substances that may be elevated in people with allergies.