title: Effects of oral vitamin E on treatment of atopic dermatitis: A randomized controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) remains to be determined; recently a possible change in the immune system with production of immunoglobulins is proposed. As vitamin E is a potent antioxidant, with the ability to decrease the serum levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in atopic patients, we aimed to evaluate the effect of oral vitamin E on treatment of AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comprised seventy participants with mild-to-moderate AD, based on the Hanifin and Rajka diagnostic criteria. The patients were randomly selected from teaching skin clinics in Isfahan, Iran. They were randomly assigned to two groups of equal number, receiving vitamin E (400 IU/day) and placebo for four 4 months. Each month, the extent, severity, and subjective symptoms including itch and sleeplessness were measured by SCORAD index. Three months after the end of intervention, the recurrence rate was assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The improvement in all symptoms, except sleeplessness, was significantly higher in the group receiving vitamin E than in controls (-1.5 vs. 0.218 in itching, -10.85 vs. -3.54 in extent of lesion, and -11.12 vs. -3.89 in SCORAD index, respectively, P < 0.05). Three months after the end of intervention, the recurrence rate of AD was evaluated. Recurrence rate between all 42 individuals, who remained in the study, was 18.6%. Recurrence ratio of the group receiving vitamin E compared to the placebo group was 1.17, without significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that vitamin E can improve the symptoms and the quality of life in patients with AD. As vitamin E has no side effects with a dosage of 400 IU/day, it can be recommended for the treatment of AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Health, Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Fariba
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jaffary
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Health, Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Gita
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Faghihi
authors.affiliation: Skin and Stem Cell Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Arghavan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mokhtarian
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Sayed Mohsen
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hosseini
keywords: Atopic dermatitis (AD); SCORAD index; treatment; vitamin E