title: Efficacy of topical treatment in psoriasis with MC903, a new vitamin D analogue.
abstract: In 10 in-patients with chronic plaque psoriasis, the antipsoriatic effect of MC903, a new synthetic analogue of vitamin D was evaluated. In each patient two symmetrical located psoriatic plaques were selected for the study. Topical treatment with MC903 cream (containing 1.2 mg MC903 per g cream) was compared with placebo cream in a double-blind, controlled, left-right, randomized way during 6 weeks of therapy. Compared with baseline, the clinical (erythema, scaling and infiltration) improvement was significant after 1 week of therapy with MC903 cream, while lateral comparison showed MC903 cream significantly better than cream base after 4 weeks of therapy (p less than 0.05). Measurements of skin blood flow by the laser Doppler technique in evaluating the disease activity was not superior to the clinical assessments. In 3 patients the psoriatic lesions treated with MC903 cream cleared completely during 6 weeks of therapy. No essential adverse reactions were observed. MC903 has a potent effect on cell proliferation and cell differentiation, but has minimal effect on calcium metabolism. It is concluded that this synthetic vitamin D analogue is potentially useful in the treatment of psoriasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Staberg
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roed-Petersen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Menné
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011897:Random Allocation; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply
chemical_list: C055085:calcipotriene; D002117:Calcitriol