Nolan A, Badminton J, Maguire J et al. J Oral Pathol Med 2009;38:299–303.
Oral lichen planus (OLP) is known to mostly occur in middle-aged patients; however, the pathogenesis of the disease is not well understood, but is thought to arise in response to a number of antigens within the oral epithelium. Different forms of OLP have been recognized, with different symptoms and clinical appearances. The current authors undertook this study to determine the efficacy of hyaluronic acid for managing OLP, and found that the treatment has a marginal effect on the disease.
The current article details a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial by Nolan et al., in which 124 patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) were included. In total, 62 (50%) of the patients were treated with 0.2% hyaluronic acid in gel, and the remainder were treated with an appropriate placebo. The effect was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, a questionnaire for oral function, and by measuring the ulcer and erosion size before and during the 29-day treatment in which patients were instructed to use the gel five times a day.