TREATMENT OF PSORIASIS WITH CALCIPOTRIOL - TIME OF ONSET AND HEALING OF RELAPSES

This clinical trial was designed to assess the effect of calcipotriol on the incidence of relapse and relapse intervals of psoriasis vulgari s after topical treatment with calcipotriol, and how they subsequently responded to the same treatment. Forty patients with psoriasis were e nrolled in the study (26M, 14F), mean (+/- SD) age 48 +/- 16.4 years. They were treated with calcipotriol, 50 mu g/g, applied twice a day, u ntil healing or the best possible therapeutic result was obtained. The y were kept under observation until the disease relapsed, and were the n retreated with calcipotriol until healing. Calcipotriol gave signifi cant results from the fourth week of treatment, with a reduction in th e PASI score of 51.8% from baseline and 26.3% healing. The first treat ment lasted for a mean of 53.5 days, and never went beyond ten weeks. Patients were relapse-free for a mean of period 43.3 days. Of the fort y initial cases, 24 were treated for relapses, for a mean duration of 44.6 days. This group of patients were stratified a posferiori on the basis of the mean duration of the first treatment cycle: short (40.6 d ays) or long (69.6 days). It was observed that the duration of the fir st treatment cycle had no influence on the relapse-free interval while the time of recovery from relapse was significantly reduced when the first treatment cycle was prolonged. These data represent a possible e stimate of the optimal treatment duration with calcipotriol in mild-mo derate psoriasis. Furthermore, they indicate that the recovery after r elapse, when calcipotriol is used, is dependent upon the dose rate use d during the previous treatment.