BACKGROUND: Long-term use of topical steroids for inflammatory skin diseases can induce complications, and efforts to find a better treatment are being continued. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) suppresses the skin's inflammatory reaction, maintains the homeostasis of the skin, and plays an important role in skin barrier function. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the effects of a skin moisturizer containing PPARalpha activator on various inflammatory skin diseases causing facial erythema and evaluated the observed improvements. METHODS: The PPARa activator used for this study is composed of supercritical extracts from Euryale ferox, Euphorbia lathyris, and Rosa multiflora, which showed significant effects in the transactivation assay compared to Wy14643. Moisturizer containing PPARalpha was applied to the faces of 31 patients with symmetric facial erythema, with PPARalpha applied on one-half of the face and a control moisturizer on the other half of the face twice a day for 2 weeks. The percentage of erythema index, erythema index, skin hydration, and transepidermal water loss was checked to evaluate treatment effect. Both patients and clinicians each assessed the improvement of erythema on both sides of a patient's face. RESULTS: Moisturizer containing PPARalpha agonist significantly improved erythema index measured with Mexameter MX18(R) and percentage of erythema index by polarization color imaging system (DermaVision-PRO(R)) (p<0.05). However, there was no significant improvement in skin hydration and transepidermal water loss. Improvement of erythema was also shown on both the patient and clinician graded assessments. CONCLUSION: Topical PPARalpha agonist applied during clinical practice was relatively safe and effective. This can be applied clinically to various inflammatory skin diseases causing erythema.
Erythema* ; Euphorbia ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; PPAR alpha* ; Rosa ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; Steroids ; Transcriptional Activation