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A newly formulated topical therapy appears to be significantly effective and well-tolerated in patients suffering from primary focal hyperhidrosis. The modified formulation offers a therapeutic option to patients who fail other topical therapies for their condition and/or where other treatment avenues are not an option.
The 12-week, single-center, open-label study included 30 patients with moderate-to-severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis, who had a baseline score of 3 to 4 on the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS).
Participants applied Hydrosal bilaterally in the axillae once nightly for a week and then twice weekly for the duration of the study.
"Prescription-strength formulations of 20 percent aluminum chloride in aqueous alcohol (Drysol, Person & Covey) can often be too irritating for patients and difficult for them to tolerate.
"In a recent study, 20 percent aluminum chloride in a 4 percent salicylic acid gel base proved to have an excellent efficacy and safety, and was much more accepted and tolerated by patients.
"This new formulation found in Hydrosal seems to do even better in terms of tolerability by patients, while keeping up a good level of effectiveness," says Dee Anna Glaser, M.D., professor and vice chairman, department of dermatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis.
Tolerability
Adverse events that can occur with topical preparations include redness, stinging, itching, fissuring and pain and occur at a much higher incidence with alcohol-based preparations and/or higher concentrations of aluminum chloride, such as Drysol, when compared to Hydrosal.
Topical products should ideally be applied to a dry area at night and should not be washed off until the next morning.
Botox
"Botox (Allergan) is an effective treatment consisting of a one-time injection that, on average, lasts for over seven months and is a favored treatment by my patients.
"However, for those patients that shy away from injections, topical therapies remain a good option of treatment," Dr. Glaser tells Dermatology Times.
According to Dr. Glaser, the two therapies that really make sense when the pros and cons are weighed are either Botox or topical approaches.
Disclosure: This study was funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Valeo Pharma.