QUEBEC (PasseportSanté.net) October 7, 2005 – An extract of growth factors obtained from milk was shown to be effective in reducing the symptoms of psoriasis in a recent clinical study, presented during a symposium held in Quebec1.
A first preliminary study without a placebo group had given conclusive results. Researchers at Laval University therefore continued their work. “As the placebo effect is of the order of 20% to 25% in studies on psoriasis, it was necessary to go further and test this extract within the framework of a controlled study”, explained Yves Pouliot, professor at Department of Food and Nutrition Sciences at Laval University.
The company Advitech, which developed the extract, funded this study with placebo among 84 men and women recruited from two dermatology clinics, one in Quebec City and the other in Montreal. The patients presented with psoriasis covering 4% of their body. They were divided into two groups whose characteristics were similar in terms of age, weight and severity of symptoms. None of them took any medication during the trial2.
During 112 days, a group benefited from 5 g of this milk extract, called “8/28”. The other group received a placebo for 56 days, then a dose of 10 g of extract for the other 56 days. Patients were then rated on a scale of 1 to 5 (Physician Global Assessment or PDA), used by their treating dermatologist.
“Dermatologists were initially very skeptical because they wondered how an extract from milk could have an effect on psoriasis, but they were impressed with the results,” said Yves Pouliot.
In fact, during the first 56 days, 21% of the treated patients saw their condition improve, compared to only 9.5% in the placebo group. No adverse effects were seen in study participants. These results should be presented shortly, during an American Congress of Dermatology.
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“The photos taken” before “and” after “reveal a marked improvement in terms of the size and intensity of psoriasis plaques,” continued Yves Pouliot. The researchers found that the 10 g dose was no more effective than the 5 g dose and that the improvement seen after 56 days was maintained, but not increased.
Conventional treatments do not cure this disease either. They only relieve the symptoms. But they have significant side effects.
The new treatment has significant advantages over the usual treatments, according to Yves Pouliot. For example, the application of a cream on the affected parts or the exposure to UVA and UVB rays are more tedious procedures than the simple daily consumption of 5 g of extract in powder form.
The “8/28” extract is not yet on the market, but Avitech is in negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry to sell its discovery. According to Yves Pouliot, marketing could begin as early as 2006. It is not yet known whether it will be an over-the-counter product or a prescription drug.
Note that the milk itself cannot be therapeutically effective in psoriasis. Indeed, growth factors are present in very small amounts, around 500 micrograms (one millionth of a gram) per liter. It would therefore be necessary to swallow about 25 liters of milk to obtain the same amount of growth factors as in 5 g of this extract.
Françoise Ruby – PasseportSanté.net
1. Functional foods and nutraceuticals: states and knowledge. Symposium held in Quebec on October 5 and 6, 2005 and organized by the Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (INAF), in collaboration with the Center québécois de valorization des biotechnologies (CQVB).
2. Prior to the start of the trial, patients were subjected to a wash out, that is, a period of time when they stopped taking the medicines they were using to treat their psoriasis. This period allows the body to eliminate the drugs taken before the test (internally or externally), so that their effects do not mask that of the experimental treatment.