Superiority of a vitamin B12-barrier cream compared with standard glycerol-petrolatum-based emollient cream in the treatment of atopic dermatitis: A randomized, left-to-right comparative trial.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a result of complex genetic, epigenetic, environmental, and immunological interactions with an overlapping epidermal barrier defect. The study evaluates the efficacy and tolerability of topical Vitamin B12-barrier cream (MB12) compared with standard glycerol-petrolatum-based emollient cream (GPC) used three times a day for mild AD. The study was conducted as a on one hemi-body randomized, controlled, single-blind, intra-patient left-to-right comparative trial by patients with clinical diagnosis of mild AD measured with total SCORAD index over 4 months. MB12 was compared on one hemi-body treated (GPC). The comparisons of score values were performed primarily by using non-parametric procedures: Mann-Whitney-U test (for independent samples) and Wilcoxon test (for dependent samples). All 22 patients were randomized (left or right side treated with MB12 or GPC). At week 12 a reduction from baseline in SCORAD index was assessed in both body sites with 77.6% SCORAD index reduction in the MB12 treated body sites versus 33.5% in the GPC treated body sites. These results suggest that MB12 could represent a new option in the treatment of mild AD.