Efficacy of a topical formulation of Henna (Lawsonia inermis) on the itch and wound healing in patients with epidermolysis bullosa: A pilot single-arm clinical trial
Citation: Niazi M, Parvizi MM, Saki N, Parvizi Z, Mehrbani M, Heydari M. Efficacy of a topical formulation of henna (Lawsonia inermis L.) on the itch and wound healing in patients with epidermolysis bullosa: A pilot single-arm clinical trial. Dermatol Pract Concept. 2022;12(3):e2022115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5826/dpc.1203a115
Accepted: November 22, 2021; Published: July 2022
Copyright: ©2022 Niazi et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (BY-NC-4.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/, which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.
Funding: This study was supported by Vice Chancellor of Research, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran (Grant No: 98-01-65-19435).
Competing interests: The authors declare that there is conflict of interest, in the way that two individuals listed in authors’ list, MMP and ZP, suffer from DEB and they participated in this clinical trial, but they did not have any role in response evaluation of the drug.
Authorship: Conception and design of the work: MN, MMP, MH, NS, MM, ZP; data collection: MN, NS, MM; analysis and interpretation of the data: MN, MH, MM, NS; statistical analysis: MMP, MM; drafting the manuscript: MN, MMP, NS, MM, ZP; critical revision of the manuscript: MMP, MM, NS, MH, Final approval: MN, MMP, MH, NS, MM, ZP
Corresponding author: Mohammad Mahdi Parvizi, MD, PHD, Assistant professor of Persian Medicine, Molecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Zand Avenue, Shahid Faghihi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, 7134844119. Telephone: 00989173237031. Email: mmparvizi@gmail.com
Abstract
Introduction: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a rare inherited genetic skin disorder with severe skin itching and recurrent blisters and erosion. There is no effective and specific therapy for all types of EB.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate a topical formulation of henna (Lawsonia inermis L.) in the management of wounds and the itching sensation in patients with EB.
Methods: This is a pilot single-arm clinical trial. Nine patients with recessive dystrophic EB (RDEB), with the age range of 5 to 32 years old were enrolled in the study. The patients were instructed to apply the topical 1% henna ointment once daily on two erosions and on also two sites with moderate to a severe itching sensation. The total duration of the intervention was four weeks with weekly follow-up visits. Patient global impression of improvement (PGI-I), visual analog scale (VAS), and clinical global impression of improvement (CGI-I) were used for assessing the wound healing process and itching discomfort.
Results: There was a significant improvement in the skin symptoms of epidermolysis bullosa including skin redness, itching, burning, and local warmness (p-value<0.05). Local pain decreased during the study period, but this was not statistically significant (p-value<0. 0.19). One patient reported moderate xerosis of skin after continuous usage.
Conclusion: It seems that the topical formulation of henna may be effective in the management of itching, burning, stringing, and cutaneous warmness sensation in patients with EB. Further controlled studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to better evaluate this formulation.
Keywords :
epidermolysis bullosa,
Lawsonia plant,
wound healing,
pruritus,
complementary therapies
