BOCHUM, Germany--Topical vitamin B12 helps relieve the severity and duration of atopic dermatitis, according to a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology (150, 5:977-83 May 2004) (www.blackwell-synergy.com). Researchers from Ruhr University, Bochum, evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of topical vitamin B12 and its effects on atopic dermatitis--also known as eczema.

The prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase III, multicenter, clinical trial treated 49 patients for eight weeks. Each patient applied the vitamin B12-containing active preparation twice daily to affected skin areas of one side of the body and a placebo preparation to the other side, according to a randomization scheme.

On the side treated with the vitamin B12 cream, the modified Six Area, Six Sign, Atopic Dermatitis score (SEM) dropped to a significantly greater extent than that of the placebo-treated side (5534 SEM versus 2887 SEM for B12 and placebo, respectively).

The scientists concluded topical vitamin B12 cream, as a new therapeutic approach in atopic dermatitis, may be effective in the reduced extent and severity of atopic dermatitis.