Chinese Herbal Product (Xiao-Feng-San) Provides Symptom Relief in Refractory Atopic Dermatitis

Severe and widespread atopic dermatitis often fails to respond adequately to topical steroids and oral antihistamines and requires immunomodulatory drugs which, although effective, may have undesirable long-term effects.

This prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 71 patients with severe intractable atopic dermatitis who were given an 8-week treatment with oral Xiao-Feng-San (XFS; 47 patients).

The decrease in the lesion score in the treatment group at 8 weeks was significantly greater than that of the placebo group (79.7 vs. 13.5, p less than 0.001).

Patients reported no side effects from treatment, although some commented on the unpalatability of the medication.

This study from Taiwan suggest that the traditional Chinese herbal medicine XFS may be an alternative choice of therapy for severe, refractory atopic dermatitis.

References:

The Efficacy and Safety of a Chinese Herbal Product (Xiao-Feng-San) for the Treatment of Refractory Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
Cheng HM, Chiang LC, Jan YM, Chen GW, Li TC. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2010 Dec 22;155(2):141-148.

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