the ALPHA trial has completed follow up and the results are being analysed. Thank you to all of the patients who took part and staff at the participating hospitals who have helped us become the largest hand eczema trial worldwide. Our final results will be available on the NIHR website here: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/hta/1218601/#/ in due course, with a ‘notify me’ option to receive an email when they are published. We will also share our results on this site and via social media. Kind regards, the ALPHA trial team
kind regards the ALPHA team.
ALPHA: ALitretinoin versus PUVA in severe chronic HAnd eczema trial
The ALPHA trial compares Alitretinoin and PUVA therapy in patients aged 18 years and over with severe hand eczema which is not controlled on a daily (regular) basis with prescription steroid creams. This is to find out which is the most effective treatment:
PUVA
Hands are soaked in psoralen
Hands are exposed to UV light
Alitretinoin
Tablet treatment
Taken once a day
Both are equally used by doctors in standard clinical practice, but there is no clear evidence indicating which is most effective in treating which type of hand eczema.
BBC Look North (Yorkshire) features Dr Miriam Wittmann discussing the ALPHA trial – click the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03tqv2c to watch the full programme. Here’s a shortened version of the video on the BBC Look North face book page.
