PURPOSE

The management of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) is often difficult. We hypothesized that repeated intramuscular administration of autologous total immunoglobulin G (IgG) could induce clinical improvement in patients with AD through immune modulation. This clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunomodulatory effect of the intramuscular administration of autologous total IgG in patients with AD.

METHODS

In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 51 adolescent and adult patients with moderate-to-severe AD were randomized to receive 8 weekly intramuscular administrations of autologous total IgG 50 mg (n = 26) or saline (n = 25) over a 7-week period and were followed up to week 16. Changes in the clinical severity score (Eczema Area and Severity Index), affected body surface area, patient-reported Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score, laboratory biomarkers, and incidence of adverse events from baseline to week 16 were assessed.

RESULTS

The intramuscular administration of autologous total IgG, compared with saline, decreased the clinical severity score (-64.8% vs. -20.3%, < 0.001), reduced the affected body surface area (-53.9% vs. -19.1%, < 0.001), improved the DLQI score (-35.4% vs. -14.4%, = 0.015), increased serum interleukin-10 and interferon-γ levels ( = 0.011 and = 0.003, respectively), and reduced the incidence of AD exacerbation (11.5% vs. 48.0%, = 0.004) from baseline to week 16. No serious adverse events were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The intramuscular administration of autologous total IgG provided clinical improvements and a systemic immunomodulatory effect in adolescent and adult patients with moderate-to-severe AD without significant side effects.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinical Research Information Service Identifier: KCT0001597.