Colloidal silicic acid for the treatment of psoriatic skin lesions, arthropathy and onychopathy. A pilot study.
Lassus A.
Helsinki Research Centre, Finland.
In a randomized, double-blind study, patients with chronic plaque-type psoriasis were either treated with 30 ml colloidal silicic acid gel, orally, daily, and topically with the same gel (n = 15), or were treated identically with placebo gel (n = 15) for 3 months. One stable psoriatic lesion on the knee or elbow was treated topically and followed throughout the study. Five patients in the treated group and seven controls had psoriatic arthropathy and 11 treated patients and 12 controls had psoriatic onychopathy. Three treated patients and six controls withdrew because of skin irritation or lack of efficacy. In the treated group there were clear improvements in scaling, induration and erythema after treatment. The nail changes were cured in five of 10 evaluable patients in the treated group and joint pain was reduced by almost half in the four evaluable patients with arthropathy. There were no such improvements in the placebo group.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial
In Germany many patients derive benefit from colloidal silicic acid. This is taken by mouth mixed with orange juice. Over a period of two or three months improvement of the nails can be seen.
In Germany, colloidal silicic acid is used for dry skin and brittle nails and is a product that can be bought over the counter. It is available in the UK marketed by a Company called Saguna and can be obtain from Holland & Barrett. There have been some very limited trials looking at the efficacy of this preparation and these have shown reasonable results. One such trial is shown above.
Maybe worth a try or has anyone tried this before?
