Epiceram Versus Elidel for Treatment of Mild to Moderate Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease that has increased in prevalence worldwide two- to threefold over the last 50 years. Current standard of care for atopic dermatitis includes topical corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors, such as Elidel and Protopic. The chronic use of topical corticosteroids is limited by side effects including skin atrophy, striae, and even HPA axis suppression. The long-term effects of skin immunosuppression with calcineurin inhibitors are unknown and although not proven, a theoretical risk of skin cancer exists. Novel therapies for atopic dermatitis that avoid immunosupression are greatly needed. Epiceram, a newly FDA-approved medical device is a topical barrier repair cream designed to deliver special epidermal lipids to the top layers of the skin in order to correct skin barrier abnormalities found in atopic dermatitis. Epiceram does not contain corticosteroids or other conventional anti-inflammatory components and represents a novel class of skin barrier repair therapy for inflammatory skin disease. The objective of this study is to determine whether Epiceram is a safe and effective therapy for mild to moderate atopic dermatitis and whether it may serve as an alternative to Elidel therapy.