Background:
Vitamin d analogues are useful in topical therapy of psoriasis.
Objectives:
To evaluate the effect of hexafluoro-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin d3 (f6-1,25(oh)2d3) in treatment of psoriasis.
Methods:
Fifteen patients with plaque-type psoriasis were enrolled in a single centre double-blind, right/left comparison, placebo-controlled study, and received 0.1 g of petrolatum containing 5 microg of f6-1,25(oh)2d3 or 0.1 g of petrolatum (placebo) for 3 months. after completion of this double-blind study, a subset of these patients (n = 12) applied f6-1,25(oh)2d3 ointment (50 microg g-1 of petrolatum) to all their lesions (total area, 100-5000 cm2, mean area: 3300 m2) for 2 months as a single application at night.
Results:
The mean severity score in the right/left-sided controlled topical f6-1,25(oh)2d3 (50 microg g-1) therapy group showed a decrease of 85%. in contrast, the mean severity score for the placebo-treated areas showed a decrease of 45% (p < 0.001). in the 12 patients who subsequently applied f6-1,25(oh)2d3 (50 microg g-1) ointment to all of their lesions, 91.6% showed moderate to excellent improvement. the mean psoriasis area and severity index score decreased by 44.9% (from 33.6 +/- 15 to 18.5 +/- 13). no effect on calcium homeostasis was noted. adverse events included mild irritation in two patients that resolved during therapy.
Conclusions:
Topical f6-1,25(oh)2d3 is a safe and effective once a day treatment for psoriasis.