Efficacy and safety of Eucerin 10% Urea Lotion in the treatment of symptoms of aged skin

Two features of senescent skin are dryness and itching, which are caused by a reduced water-binding capacity of the stratum corneum. Urea, topically applied, is known to increase the water content of the stratum corneum and thereby improves the symptoms of dry and itching skin. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of a lotion containing 10% urea (Eucerin® 10% Urea Lotion) with that of the urea-free lotion base in the treatment of the symptoms of aged skin. In a randomized double-blind vehicle-controlled study with a semilateral design, 60 elderly volunteers (mean age 64.1 years) with characteristic symptoms of aged but otherwise healthy skin were treated over a period of 4 weeks. The study protocol used surface moisture content of the forearm skin as determined by corneometry as the primary efficacy criterion and subjective symptoms (dryness, itching) as secondary efficacy criteria. Eucerin 10% Urea Lotion proved to be superior to its vehicle in increasing skin hydration, as shown by changes in corneometric moisture levels from baseline to the last visit (P<0.0001). The subjective assessments of skin dryness and itching decreased during treatment with both the active lotion and the vehicle. The skin compatibility of Eucerin 10% Urea Lotion was very good.