Comparing the effects of proactive treatment with tacrolimus ointment and mometasone furoate on the epidermal barrier structure and ceramide levels of patients with atopic dermatitis

• Published in: The Journal of dermatological treatment Vol. 32; no. 7; pp. 721 - 729
• Main Authors: Dähnhardt, Dorothee, Bastian, Mike, Dähnhardt-Pfeiffer, Stephan, Buchner, Matthias, Fölster-Holst, Regina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 03.10.2021
• Subjects: Atopic dermatitis; Ceramides; Dermatitis, Atopic - drug therapy; Humans; Immunosuppressive Agents - therapeutic use; mometasone furoate; Mometasone Furoate - therapeutic use; Ointments; proactive treatment; skin barrier; Tacrolimus - therapeutic use; tacrolimus ointment; transmission electron microscopy; Treatment Outcome; skin barrier; tacrolimus ointment; proactive treatment; transmission electron microscopy; Atopic dermatitis; mometasone furoate
• ISSN: 0954-6634; 1471-1753
• DOI: 10.1080/09546634.2019.1708240

The epidermal skin barrier and lipids that are integral to its structure are impaired in atopic dermatitis (AD). Current treatment guidelines include proactive therapy. This study assessed the effect of 12 weeks of proactive treatment with tacrolimus ointment 0.1% (TAC) compared with mometasone furoate cream (MF) on specific skin barrier lipids in patients with AD who previously received 10 days of reactive treatment with either agent. This was an open-label, non-interventional study. In the reactive phase, forearm lesions in 20 patients were treated with either TAC or MF twice daily for 10 days. In the subsequent proactive phase, patients applied TAC or MF twice weekly for 12 weeks (n = 16 patients). Over the 12-week proactive treatment period, the mean local SCORAD significantly decreased in the TAC and MF treatment group. Levels of total and individual ceramides increased in both groups. Normalized intercellular lipid lamellae values were significantly higher with proactive TAC treatment than MF and undistinguishable from healthy skin. The results show that proactive treatment with TAC is superior in restoring the skin barrier.