Sodium thiosulfate improves the severity of atopic dermatitis by downregulating IL-4 and IL-13 concentrations

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common disease that has a considerable impact on the affected individual’s quality of life. Sodium thiosulfate (STS) is a traditional medicine that seems to improve the severity of lesions and relieve the symptoms of AD through clinical observation. However, the exact efficacy and mechanism of its application with AD are not clear. Patients and Methods This retrospective cohort study included patients hospitalized with moderate or severe atopic dermatitis. Patients who received standard of care (control group) were compared with patients who additionally received STS 0.64 mg once daily (STSQD) and STS 0.64 mg twice daily (STSBID) via intravenous injection. The severity of AD was assessed by the IGA score, EASI score and SCORAD score. Cytokine, eosinophil and total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were measured before and after treatment. The efficacy was assessed by EASI50 and EASI75. Results: A total of 60 patients were enrolled, 20 patients in each group respectively. There was no significant difference among the three groups in sex, age, or IGA, EASI, or SCORAD score before treatment. Treatment with STS led to greater improvement with higher EASI50 and EASI75 scores on the date of discharge compared to the control group. At the end of treatment, the SCORAD and EASI scores in the STS BID group and the STS QD group decreased much more than that in the control group. Greater reductions in peripheral blood eosinophil counts and IgE, IL-4 and IL-13 concentrations were also observed in the STS treatment group than in the control group. Conclusion: STS in combination with standard care improves the signs and symptoms of AD by downregulating concentrations of IgE, eosinophils, and type 2 proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-4 and IL-13. STS is a cheap and reliable medicine for AD.