NCT02116725

Zinc Gel and Epidermal Regeneration in Healthy Human Volunteers

Effects of Shower Gel With Zinc on Epidermal Regeneration

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: Phase 2
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Bispebjerg Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Zinc is an important metal for the maintenance of healthy skin and wound healing. Washing with detergents e.g. shower gels may deplete the zinc stores in the skin. The purpose of our study is to see whether repeated washing with zinc containing shower gel of superficial wounds will result in increased healing.

Detailed description

Zinc is a trace element abundantly present in skin with a concentration gradient from the upper stratum corneum layer to the basal layer. This fact probably reflects the necessity for zinc as co-factor in numerous enzymes involved in skin homeostasis and wound healing. Theoretically, showering with surfactants increases the loss of zinc by the shedding of the zinc-rich corneocytes. Thus there is a concern that this forced exfoliation will result in suboptimal zinc levels for the maintenance of physiological processes involved in epidermal homeostasis and repair. A logical development would thus be to supplement shower gel with zinc to compensate for this loss. In 30 healthy volunteers one epidermal wound (10 mm in diameter) is induced by suction and heat on each buttock. The wounds are washed with shower gel containing zinc, placebo shower gel or water (reference). The treatments are allocated by randomization ensuring that 20 wounds are washed with shower gel containing zinc, 20 wounds are washed with placebo shower gel and 20 wounds are washed with water.

Conditions

• Denuded Epidermis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Shower gel with zinc	Standard shower gel (Sanex) supplemented with zinc sulfate.
OTHER	Plain shower gel	Standard shower gel (Sanex).
OTHER	Distilled water	Sterile distilled Water.

Timeline

• Start date: 2014-03-01
• Primary completion: 2014-06-01
• Completion: 2014-09-01
• First posted: 2014-04-17
• Last updated: 2014-04-17

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Denmark