Literature Highlight: Treating Acute and Chronic Plaque-Type Psoriasis Using Atorvastatin

Forty-two patients, 16-60 years old, with a diagnosis of acute or chronic plaque-type psoriasis that involved at least 10% of their body surface area (BSA) were included in the study. Patients with alternative forms of psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis or who were pregnant or had a contraindication to atorvastatin were excluded. Patients were randomized into either the placebo group or the oral atorvastatin 40 mg/day group. Patients were evaluated at baseline and then every four weeks until the end of the 12-week trial. Patients were also allowed to use topical emollients, keratolytics, and class V corticosteroids. To measure effectiveness of therapy, the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) was used, and the amount of BSA involvement was measured. Adverse reactions were also monitored during the trial, along with liver function tests. Quality-of-life changes were not evaluated. Only 40 patients completed the study, with 20 patients in both treatment groups. At the end of the 12 weeks, both the placebo and the atorvastatin group significantly improved in both BSA involvement and PASI score (p<0.001). The placebo group experienced a 16.97% decrease in BSA involvement (32.30% baseline, 15.33% week 12), and the treatment group experienced a 14.77% decrease in BSA involvement (31.20% baseline, 16.43% week 12). Seven patients in the placebo group and eight in the treatment group experienced a 75% improvement in PASI score (p=0.204), with an overall improvement of 4.33 points in the placebo group (6.92 baseline, 2.59 week 12), and an improvement of 4.48 points in the Volume 16, Issue 2 February 2012