title: Clinical usefulness of a long-term treatment with an antithyroid drug for psoriasis vulgaris.
abstract: We have previously reported that an antithyroid thiourethylene, thiamazole, can bring about significant clinical improvement in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Although the efficacy of antithyroid thiourethylenes had been reported earlier, few studies have evaluated the safety of its long-term use. In this study, we aimed to study whether or not long-term thiamazole administration is complicated by any adverse effects. Eight patients with psoriasis vulgaris were enrolled in this study after informed consent was obtained. Each patient was administered thiamazole orally at 30 mg/day for 12 weeks. Two patients achieved complete clearance of psoriatic lesions. Four patients showed a significant improvement, and two patients did not reach satisfactory improvement. Some adverse effects developed in five patients; serum TSH levels elevated above the normal range in three patients and fell below the normal range in one patient. However, serum free-T3 and free-T4 levels remained within normal ranges during the treatment in all patients, and none of the patients developed clinical hypothyroidism. This preliminary study suggests that thiamazole administration is an effective and relatively safe treatment for patients with psoriasis vulgaris.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohnishi
authors.forename: Chizuru
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shoji
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D013956:Antithyroid Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008713:Methimazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D013956:Antithyroid Agents; D008713:Methimazole