304 



ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS 



spread on crackers or bread or mixed with cinnamon, jelly, or jam. When 

 favorable results occurred, usually the first evidence of improvement was 

 observed 2 to 4 weeks after the addition of fat to the diet. From the clinical 

 viewpoint it was felt that if improvement was to occur it would be evident 

 within 2 or 3 months. It must be emphasized that, although the attempt 

 was made to change only one factor, it was necessary to continue the same 

 local medication and dietary regimen as used previously and to prevent 

 injury from scratching. One continued to be on the alert for possible 

 allergens as playing a role. In order to control the clinical observations as 

 closely as possible, graphic records were used, as illustrated in a previous 

 report.^^ 



Good or 

 excellent 



Satisfactory but 

 incomplete 



Poor or none CHS 



Babies 



1 43 



Children 

 1H4 



Adults 



12 



12 



Good or 

 excellent 



Satisfactory but 

 incomplete 



Poor or none C 



The entire group (100 coses) 



52 



31 



:i7 



Fig. 13. Summary of results of Grupper and Azerad in a study of 100 patients with 

 eczema. (A. Burgos.*^") 



Azerad and Grupper^^ of Paris summarized their experience with the ad- 

 dition of fat to the diet of 100 patients, as indicated in Fig. 13. These 

 results have been confirmed in a second series of 100 patients (personal 

 conversation, 1950). One of the most striking clinical results obtained by 

 Azerad and Grupper is illustrated in Fig. 14 through the courtesy of these 

 workers. The clmical results, in general, are similar to those reported earlier 

 by Hansen et al.^'^ It must be pointed out that not all workers^^-^^ report 

 the addition of fat to the diet to be so helpful in altering the course of 

 patients with eczema. 



^^^ A. Burgos, Contribution au traitment de I'eczema par les acides gras non satur^s. 



R. Toulon, Paris, 1949. 

 *9 S. J. Taub and S. J. Zakon, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 105, 1675 (1935). 

 ^0 J. E. Ginsberg, C. Bernstein, and L. V. lob, Arch. Dermatol, and Syphilol. 36, 1033 



(1947). 

 " N. N. Epstein and D. Glick, Arch. Dermatol, and Syphilol. 35, 427 (1937). 



