title: Moisturizers are effective in the treatment of xerosis irrespectively from their particular formulation: results from a prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many companies claim that their moisturizers are superior to others based on their ingredients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the efficacy and safety of the most popular moisturizers in the field.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized, double-blind, controlled study was performed on 80 patients with moderate to severe xerosis. The test agents included the newly developed cream containing topical recombinant human epidermal growth factor (EGF), its vehicle without EGF and four additional therapeutic moisturizers. The study subjects applied the test agents on designated skin areas twice daily for 4 weeks. All of the clinical assessments and non-invasive objective measurements were performed at baseline, and on days 14 and 28 of the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All of the test agents significantly improved the clinical symptoms of xerosis. The biophysical parameters similarly improved from baseline (P < 0.05). None of the test agents performed significantly better than did another.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the treatment of xerosis, consistent and regular moisturizer use is much more important than the moisturizer's particular formulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Medical Device Management & Research, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004339:Drug Compounding / Q000379:methods; D004643:Emollients / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014870:Water Loss, Insensible / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004643:Emollients