Call Us : +41 22 738 18 48

Atopic Dermatitis Treatment: the Evening Primerose Oil Comeback ?

Gamma-linolenic acid levels correlate with clinical efficacy of evening primrose oil in patients with atopic dermatitis. Simon D. et al. Adv Ther. 2014 Feb;31(2):180-8. doi: 10.1007/s12325-014-0093-0. Epub 2014 Jan 17. Free article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3930832/

INTRODUCTION
Evening Primerose Oil (EPO) is derived from the plant oenothera
It is popular in alternative medicine and was used in Atopic Dermatitis (AD), although its use diminished as it was shown to be ineffective…until this study since
AD has been related to a deficiency of delta-6-desaturase, which converts linoleic acid to gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).

HYPOTHESIS – *RESULTS
Evening primrose oil (EPO) contains high amounts of GLA
Does EPO supplementation increase GLA (and its metabolite dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) ? –  significant increase in plasma GLA and DGLA levels found
Does this increase correlelate with clinical improvement of AD (measured by SCORAD) – decrease in the objective SCORAD were observed 4 and 12 weeks after initiation of EPO treatment. There was an inverse correlation between increased in plasma GLA and the SCORAD score (measured in 14 subjects)

COMMENT
The effects of Evening Primerose oils seem to have been rediscovered.
Why was the linear relationship only measures in 14 of the 21 subjects involved ?
A study involving more subjects is warranted to ascertain the findings as well as define the objective degree of improvement.

*STUDY DESIGN: Oral supplementation in 21 subjects with AD with EPO (4-6g) daily for 12 weeks. At baseline, 4 and 12 weeks: measurement in the blood of GLA and DGLA as well as SCORAD score.

Article selection: Prof Dr Jean-Hilaire Saurat – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland