Cholesterol Cream vs Urea Cream for Skin Barrier and Quality of Life in Ichthyosis

Starting soon · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Autosomal Recessive Congenital Ichthyosis, Skin Barrier Dysfunction, Ichthyosis Inherited

In brief

This study looks at whether a cream containing 10% cholesterol works better than a cream containing 10% urea for people with autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI), a rare inherited skin condition that causes dry, thickened, scaly skin from birth. People with ARCI have a weakened skin barrier because their skin cannot properly produce or arrange the natural fats (lipids) needed to keep moisture in and irritants out. This leads to excessive water loss through the skin, dryness, itching, cracking, and a higher risk of skin infections. The current standard treatment is urea cream, which helps soften and remove scale but does not repair the underlying fat structure of the skin barrier. Cholesterol is one of the key natural fats that makes up a healthy skin barrier, so applying it directly to the skin may help rebuild that barrier more effectively than urea. In this study, each participant will have one cream applied to one side of the body and the other cream applied to the matching area on the opposite side, so that each person acts as their own comparison. Researchers will measure how much water the skin loses (transepidermal water loss), skin hydration, and skin pH before and after treatment. They will also assess dryness and itching, take standardized clinical photographs, and ask participants to complete quality-of-life questionnaires (the Dermatology Life Quality Index, or its children's version, the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index) as well as a satisfaction questionnaire for each cream. The goal is to find out whether cholesterol cream restores the skin barrier better than urea cream, reduces dryness and itching more effectively, and leads to a better quality of life for people living with ARCI. The results may help guide more targeted skin care recommendations for this rare genetic condition. This study is being conducted at the Institute of Dermatology, Bangkok, Thailand, and has been approved by the Institute's Ethics Committee.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07689435

Run by

Institute of Dermatology, Thailand

People needed

24

Starts

2026-07-15

Expected to finish

2027-06-30

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-08

Who can join

Age: 7 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Male or female patients aged 7 to 65 years
• Confirmed diagnosis of Autosomal Recessive Congenital Ichthyosis (ARCI), established by history, family/genetic history, clinical presentation, and/or genetic testing
• Disease activity stable (not in an acute flare)
• Thai nationality
• Receiving care at the Institute of Dermatology
• Willing and able to provide informed consent (or, for participants under 18, assent with parental/legal guardian consent)

You may not qualify if…

• Presence of any other concurrent skin disease
• Known history of allergy to any component of the study creams
• Active skin infection (e.g., herpes zoster, viral, fungal, bacterial, or parasitic infection)
• History of any malignancy
• Pregnant (confirmed by positive urine pregnancy test), breastfeeding, or planning pregnancy during the study period

Where it is running

• Institute of dermatology — Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.