A NOVEL DITHRANOL FORMULATION (MICANOL) - THE EFFECTS OF MONOTHERAPY AND UVB COMBINATION THERAPY ON EPIDERMAL DIFFERENTIATION, PROLIFERATION AND CUTANEOUS INFLAMMATION IN PSORIASIS-VULGARIS

Micanol, in which dithranol is micro-encapsulated in crystalline monog lycerides, is easy to wash off and staining and irritation are inconsp icuous, These features make it appropriate to use in an out-patient se tting, In this study the immunohistochemical effects of this new dithr anol formulation were studied and compared with UVB and the combinatio n of these therapies in skin biopsies of 8 patients with psoriasis. Ma rkers for epidermal differentiation, proliferation and cutaneous infla mmation were assessed, The present study suggests that Micanol predomi nantly had diminishing effects on inflammation markers, hardly affecti ng the epidermis, UVB had a broad spectrum of reductions, It is feasib le that the combination resulted in various synergistic effects. Previ ous studies, how ever, revealed a relative persistence of the inflamma tory infiltrate with more effects on epidermal processes following dit hranol treatment, Based on the present study and on previous studies, it is hypothesised that Micanol delivers the active substance more dir ectly in the dermal infiltrate, leaving the epidermis relatively unaff ected, This might explain the low irritancy of Micanol treatment.