Thymopentin therapy reduces the clinical severity of atopic dermatitis.
One hundred patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis were entered into a two-center, double-blind trial. Patients were randomized to receive either thymopentin (Timunox, n = 48) or placebo (n = 52), administered as daily subcutaneous injections for 6 weeks. Clinical extent of disease and severity parameters were measured at baseline and at regular time intervals during the study. Both the placebo- and thymopentin-treated groups demonstrated a progressive and statistically significant (p less than 0.001) decline in the overall severity of their disease, but reduction in the clinical severity score was higher in the thymopentin-treated group and statistically significant (p = 0.04) in comparison with the placebo-treated group after 6 weeks of treatment. Of the individual symptoms comprising the total severity score, pruritus (p = 0.02) and erythema (p = 0.04) were reduced significantly when thymopentin therapy was compared to placebo therapy. In addition, both the extent of body involvement and severity index (a combined severity/extent index) were significantly reduced after 6 weeks in the thymopentin-treated group in comparison to the placebo-treated group (p = 0.04). There were no serious adverse experiences in either treatment group. We conclude that treatment with thymopentin is safe and offers significant therapeutic promise for atopic dermatitis.
Leung
D Y
DY
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
Hirsch
R L
RL
Schneider
L
L
Moody
C
C
Takaoka
R
R
Li
S H
SH
Meyerson
L A
LA
Mariam
S G
SG
Goldstein
G
G
Hanifin
J M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010919:Placebos; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016305:Thymopentin; D013946:Thymopoietins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013951:Thymus Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D010446:Peptide Fragments; D010919:Placebos; D013946:Thymopoietins; D013951:Thymus Hormones; D016305:Thymopentin