An open trial of oral macrolide treatment for psoriasis vulgaris

Seventeen patients were included in a clinical open trial of macrolides for treatment of psoriasis vulgaris. PASI scores, itch and ointment scores were used to evaluate their effectiveness. PASI scores dropped from 22.8 to 13.7; this was statistically significant. Itch reduced in 11 out of 13 patients, and the extent of itch reduced significantly by 54% on average. Ointment scores reduced from 44.9 to 34.4, which was also statistically significant. Macrolides are known not only as potent anti-biotics, but also as immunomodulatory agents. These data suggest that macrolides could be used as one of the adjunctive therapies of psoriasis vulgaris, and this study is a first step toward the future evaluation of macrolides in a double blind trial.