[Experimental and clinical demonstration of the antiproliferative effect of a highly purified coal tar fraction in a special gel vehicle].

In this study a combination of clinical and experimental investigations demonstrates the antiproliferative effect of the coal tar-containing preparation Berniter. From a concentration of 70 micrograms/ml onwards (= 0.35 micrograms coal tar/ml) Berniter inhibits DNA synthesis of transformed human keratinocytes in vitro. The growth inhibiting effect is reversible up to the ED50 concentration (257 micrograms Berniter/ml = 1.3 micrograms coal tar/ml). The tar-free vehicle has no identifiable effect on the proliferation of the cells at a concentration of 260 micrograms/ml. However, at higher concentrations (ED50 = 1023 micrograms/ml) the vehicle also inhibits cell growth, this inhibition being irreversible. The effect of Berniter and the tar-free vehicle on amino acid metabolism corresponds with the reduced growth rate. The ED50 concentrations (331 micrograms/ml for Berniter and 1445 micrograms/ml for the tar-free vehicle) are higher than those in the investigation of the proliferation. The clinical trial was performed in two groups of 12 and 11 patients, respectively, suffering from Psoriasis capillitii. After 3 days' topical treatment of both groups with salicylic acid for scaling, one group was treated for 4 weeks with betamethasone-17-valerate (in the following briefly called Bet-17-v), as a commercial lotion. The other group received Bet-17-v initially for 3 days and was then treated for 4 weeks with Berniter. The 4 parameters used for evaluation (erythema, scaling, infiltration and itching) showed a more significant improvement in the Berniter group than in the Bet-17-v group. Subjectively, treatment with Berniter was assessed to be preferable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)