Trial of folic acid therapy in psoriasis.

PATIENTS suffering from psoriasis frequently have a low serum folate (Knowles, Shuster and Wells, 1969; Shuster, Marks and Chanarin, 1967). It is usually accepted that this is due to loss of folate in the psoriatic desquamation (Hild, 1969), though it has been suggested that increased utilisation of folate is possibly a more important factor (Touraine, Revuz, Zittoun, Jarret and Tulliez, 1973). No matter what the true explanation may be, the serum folate is undoubtedly often reduced in psoriasis, and it was decided to examine the effect of administering folic acid to patients suffering from psoriasis in the hope that it might be of therapeutic benefit.