Natroba effective against head lice and nits

ParaPRO, LLC, announced that researchers have presented data showing the effectiveness of Natroba™ (spinosad) Topical Suspension, 0.9% against head lice and nits following one treatment without nit combing. Those data about the pediculicide, derived from a naturally-occurring soil bacterium, were presented in a poster session on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition (NCE) in Boston.

“The results build upon earlier research indicating spinosad, without nit combing, kills both live lice and nits after treatment”

"The results build upon earlier research indicating spinosad, without nit combing, kills both live lice and nits after treatment," said Nicole Rogers, MD. "This study also supports previous in vitro findings showing spinosad was ovicidal."

In the multi-center randomized investigator-blinded clinical dose-ranging trial, 122 patients, ages 2 to 60 years old with active lice infestations, were randomized to receive spinosad or placebo. Efficacy was assessed as the proportion of subjects who were free of live lice and/or viable nits 7 and 14 days after treatment. A single treatment was applied by a study technician to dry hair and scalp for 10 minutes and then rinsed with warm water. All patients were treated without nit combing. On day 7, 92% (33/36) of the spinosad patients were lice free compared to 49% (21/43) of patients treated with placebo (P<0.0001). On day 14, the efficacy rate for the spinosad group was 86% (31/36) compared to 26% for patients treated with placebo (11/43) (P<0.0001). Re-infestation rates between day 7 and 14 (whether as a result of nits hatching or through transmission) were 6% (2/32) for the spinosad group and 50% for the placebo group (10/20). On days 7 and 14, hair and nit samples were collected from patients treated with spinosad and evaluated for ten days following the initial treatment. Investigators determined that nits contained on the hair samples did not hatch after treatment with spinosad.

Patients were asked about any changes in their health or medications. Adverse events were recorded based on the answers provided. Investigators also documented the degree of scalp irritation in patients. There were no severe adverse events reported and no significant differences in adverse events between the spinosad and placebo treated patients.