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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

The Goeckerman Regimen for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis
Published on: July 11, 2013
Serum TNF-alpha in psoriasis after treatment with propylthiouracil, an antithyroid thioureylene
Alan N Elias1, Vanda S Nanda, Raj Pandian
1Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of California, Irvine Medical Center, 101 The City Drive, Orange, California 92868, USA. anelias@uci.edu
Background:
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and its receptors play important roles in the development and persistence of psoriatic plaques. The antithyroid thioureylenes, propylthiouracil and methimazole, are effective in the treatment of patients with psoriasis with a significant number of patients showing clearing or near clearing of their lesions after a several weeks of treatment.
Methods:
The present study examined the effect of treatment with propylthiouracil, given in a dose of 100 mg every 8 hours for 3 months, on the serum levels of TNF-alpha in 9 patients with plaque psoriasis.
Results:
Propylthiouracil therapy did not result in a significant decline in serum TNF-alpha concentrations.
Conclusions:
The findings suggest that the therapeutic effect of propylthiouracil in psoriasis appears not to be related to any change in the concentration of TNF-alpha but occurs via an anti-proliferative mechanism as we have previously speculated.
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