A neat human study, which demonstrates that topical treatment with vitamin D may treat even large scars that have been present on the skin for years. Many people have such scars as a result of surgery, trauma, chemical/heat burns, radiation, etc. As the study says, the typical treatment is with cortisol injections, however the effectiveness is less than 10%, and the only other option is cosmetic surgery, which of course leaves scars of its own and can hardly be considered a “solution”. Humble vitamin D may come to the rescue and even though the study used injections of the vitamin into the scar, topical administration of vitamin D has also been found to achieve high skin concentrations. The dosage used in the study was 200,000 of vitamin D3, and all that was needed was 3-4 sessions of such treatment. The mechanism of action, as expected, was the antifibrotic effects of vitamin D, which I have discussed many times in my posts. The study abstract does not mention timing/duration but considering mos doctors prescribe 50,000 IU weekly, this suggests the study used the 200,000 IU once monthly and as such the treatment duration was 3-4 months. There is no reason why the same effects cannot be achieved with daily treatments using lower doses, which means daily topical administration of 10,000 IU – 15,000 IU of vitamin D3 (higher dose than the 200,000 / 30 in order to account for absorption of less than 100% through the skin) should be able to achieve similar results.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33721390/
https://www.dermatologytimes.com/view/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-keloid-scar-treatment
“…A recent study in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology examines the safety and efficacy of using vitamin D intralesional injection for the treatment of keloid scars. Treating keloid scars continue to be a particular challenge for dermatologists due to the scars oversized nature, continued growth, and difficult treatment. While intralesional corticosteroid injection is considered first-line treatment for keloids, a recent study in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology1 (JCD) examined vitamin D efficacy treating keloids using intralesional injection. Vitamin D slows the progression of tissue fibrosis by keloid fibroblasts and inhibits collagen synthesis in dermal fibrosis, according to the study, making the vitamin a key player in cell proliferation and differentiation. The study, which evaluated the efficacy of intralesional injection of vitamin D in the treatment of keloids, both clinically and ultrasonically, included 40 patients with keloids. Patients were injected weekly with intralesional vitamin D at a dose of 0.2 ml (200,000 IU) per 1 cm lesion. The keloid scars were evaluated before and after treatment with the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) and by a high-resolution ultrasound using B mode. Study patients received 3 to 4 sessions. Results showed a statistically significant reduction in VSS after treatment with the vitamin injection (p value ≤0.001) along with a highly significant improvement in ultrasonic keloid scar thickness post-treatment (P value ≤0.001). From this data, study investigators concluded that intralesional vitamin D is a safe and effective treatment of keloid scares. Additionally, ultrasound is useful in assessing keloid improvement after treatment.”
