Unlike healthy control skin, the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) is frequently colonized by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), putting these patients at increased risk of S. aureus skin infections. In addition, research in the investigator's lab has shown that these patients have fewer protective antimicrobial Staphylococcal species such as Staphylococcal epidermidis (S. epidermidis) that are known to produce antimicrobial peptides that play a role in protecting the skin from invading pathogens. In this study, the investigator will attempt to decrease S. aureus colonization and increase colonization of protective Staph species in AD patients. First the investigator will capture the bacteria on subjects' skin. Next the investigator will selectively grow the subject's antimicrobial Staphylococcal colonies and place them into a base moisturizer. The moisturizer plus bacteria will be applied to one of the subject's arms for one week. Some subjects will receive placebo, which is the moisturizer alone (without bacteria). The investigator will then swab the arms at specified time points during and after the one week application in order to determine whether the S. aureus abundance was affected by the application of the transplanted bacteria.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
15
Twice-daily application of Active or Placebo comparators to the right and left ventral arms of patients
University of California San Diego Dermatology Clinic
San Diego, California, United States
Relative Abundance of Staphylococcus Aureus Compared to Baseline
Relative abundance of S. aureus 24 hours after initial treatment application (baseline).
Time frame: 24 Hours
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