UVB: Skin to Gut Study

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Healthy
• Interventions: Radiation: NB-UVB light exposure

• Registration Number: NCT03962673
• Lead Sponsor: University of British Columbia

Brief Summary

This research will explore the potential effects of Narrow-Band Ultra Violet B (NB-UVB) radiation on the intestinal microbiota composition and confirm a regulatory skin-to-gut axis during baseline conditions. Changes in the intestinal microbiota composition caused by NB-UVB phototherapy could be beneficial for patients with chronic/auto-inflammatory diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by removing dangerous bacteria, increasing beneficial bacteria, and ultimately modulating immune responses.

Detailed Description

Purpose:

To explore the potential effects of Narrow-Band Ultra Violet B (NB-UVB) radiation on the intestinal microbiota composition in humans and confirm a regulatory skin-to-gut axis during baseline conditions.

Hypothesis:

Humans exposed to UVB-NB light will show changes in the intestinal microbiota composition with the selection of certain phyla of bacteria.

Justification:

To date, there is no data that describes a biological response to UVB light in the body that affects the intestinal microbiota. Changes in the intestinal microbiota composition caused by NB-UVB phototherapy could be beneficial for patients with chronic/auto-inflammatory diseases like IBD by removing dangerous bacteria, increasing beneficial bacteria, and ultimately modulating immune responses.

Objectives:

1. Establish if there is a skin regulatory response towards NB-UVB light in humans.

2. Examine what changes in the microbiota composition can be observed on bacterial phyla and class level.

3. Determine if this research is worth pursuing in a larger cohort.

Research design:

During the first visit, the skin type will be assessed by using the Fitzpatrick skin type questionnaire.

Subsequently, subjects will be exposed three times within one week to full body NB-UVB light in The Skin Care Centre to a sub erythemic dose (cause slight redness of the skin but not burning). The exposures will happen during the winter months to prevent UVB exposure from the sun during daily activities to interfere with our observations. Stool samples will be collected before the first exposure (2x) and after the last exposure (2x) to analyze the microbiota composition. Also, serum vitamin D (25-hydroxy vitamin D) will be measured before and after the UVB exposure as a marker of previous UVB exposure before the experiment.

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design
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Trial Locations

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2018-02-19
• Primary Completion: 2018-04-27
• Study Completion: 2019-02-26
• Status Verified: 2019-05
• Study First Submitted: 2019-05-22
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-05-23
• Last Update Submitted: 2019-05-23
• Study First Posted: 2019-05-24
• Last Update Posted: 2019-05-24

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 23

Inclusion Criteria

• Healthy Caucasian females
• Fitzpatrick skin type I, II or III

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Exclusion Criteria

• Skin photosensitivity due to medication
• Been on vacation to a sunny destination three months before enrollment
• Visit tanning beds on a regular basis in the past

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
UVB- exposure	NB-UVB light exposure	Each participant will receive a pre-determined dose of UVB light. Serum Vitamin D and microbiome samples of each participant will be compared before and after the UVB light exposures.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Microbiome	Before and after the UVB exposures (1 week apart)	Changes in the fecal microbiome composition after the UVB light exposures
Serum vitamin D	1 week	The effect of UVB light exposures on the serum vitamin D concentrations

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

BC Childrens Hospital; 🇨🇦 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada