Saurat J H, Geiger J M, Amblard P, Beani J C, Boulanger A, Claudy A, Frenk E, Guilhou J J, Grosshans E, Mérot Y
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland.
Dermatologica. 1988;177(4):218-24. doi: 10.1159/000248567.
A randomized double-blind study was designed with 65 patients in order to clarify two points: (1) does addition of a retinoid to psoralen-ultra violet A photochemotherapy (PUVA) of severe psoriasis decrease the UVA energy required to achieve remission, and (2) is there a difference between two retinoids, i.e. etretinate and acitretin. Acitretin-PUVA treatment was significantly superior to placebo-PUVA with respect to several items (decrease in lesional scores after 6 weeks of therapy, number of PUVA exposures, and total dose of UVA until remission). There were also differences between the etretinate-PUVA and placebo-PUVA groups, but only the decrease in lesional scores reached statistical significance.
