AAD: Head lice kayoed by experimental, fast non-insecticide rinse
NEW ORLEANS, LA -- February 22, 2005
NEW ORLEANS, LA, February 22, 2005 — An experimental rinse called Resultz kills off head lice in 10 minutes without causing intolerable adverse effects in children as young as 2 years and in adults as old as 59 years.
"This product really works well to get rid of head lice that are becoming more and more resistant to our standard treatments," said Nalini Kaul, PhD, a scientist at Hill-Top Research Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Doctors applied the non-insecticide rinse to the scalp of 30 individuals, 20 of whom were 13 years of age or younger. The rinse contains 50% isopropyl myristate and 50% ST-cyclomethicone. Patients were evaluated at baseline, and then once a week for 3 weeks to determine efficacy and safety.
Following the initial evaluations, Resultz was applied to subjects' hair and was rinsed off 10 minutes later. The rinse was collected to determine the fate of the adult lice and nymphs. The lice were held in the incubator for 24 hours to determine mortality. After 24 hours all the lice had died, Dr. Kaul reported during her poster presentation here on February 20th at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Of the 30 patients, one withdrew from the study prior to being evaluated and one patient still had lice after the third visit and was considered a treatment failure, Dr. Kaul said. In all the other patients who received the Resultz rinse, the researchers found no head lice.
Several patients developed slight redness on the scalp; all but one of the cases resolved by the end of the treatment. Three patients reported itchiness that might be drug related. "No one reported symptoms described greater than 'slight,'" Dr. Kaul said.
"The results of our study with the experimental pediculicide demonstrate it as a safe alternative therapy for the control of head lice," Dr. Kaul said.
She said the new agent might be helpful in controlling the worldwide prevalence of pediculosis capitis -- the parasitic infestation that affects millions of people. "Topical agents called pediculicides are used to treat head lice infestations," Dr. Kaul said, noting, "there is growing concern that both over-the-counter and prescription formula pediculicides are no longer effective because of noncompliance with labeled instructions, and/or increasing resistance to these insecticides."
The study was sponsored by Piedmont Pharmaceuticals.
[Presentation title: In Vivo Efficacy and Safety of an Experimental Pediculicide Rinse. Poster P35]
