Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Aloe Vera treats Plaque Psoriasis

This just in - a study in Thailand demonstrated that topical aloe vera was possibly a better treatment for plaque psoriasis than topical steroids. Here's the link, and here's a quote from the investigators:
"Although contrary results were reported from two previous placebo-controlled studies, our study showed that aloe very cream was more effective than 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide cream after eight weeks of treatment".
Now, keep in mind that these results did not reach statistical significance. However, the aloe did beat out the steroid in only 8 weeks.

I wonder if my psoriatic arthritis would go away if I started drinking the stuff. Here's a link to a post claiming it would. (this is not a study, though, just an opinion).

I have been feeling like a big chemical cess-pit lately, so this study certainly caught my attention. I like when research proves that natural remedies work - it makes my scientific preferences feel at peace with my hippie soul.

2 comments:

  1. Jenny, I wonder how rigorous that study was. I used pure aloe vera gel on my psoriasis for about 3 months with no effect whatsoever. I did this trial based on the info at the NPF site about the conflicting results of previous trials. I figured it was worth a try. But zero positive results.

    Interestingly, I now use triamcinolone acetonide ointment instead, and it works very nicely.

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  2. I do wonder about this too - I bet the aloe works, but in the right dose, with the right application, etc. But the study did mention that two earlier studies were not conclusive. Clearly, more research is needed.

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