Liver biopsies from psoriatics treated with methotrexate.

To study the effects of Methotrexate (MTX) on the liver, light microscopic examination of liver biopsies from 18 consecutive patients with moderate to severe psoriasis receiving MTX seen between 1981-1985, were carried out. All patients received MTX (mean dosage of 1808 gm, mean duration of 88 months) prior to biopsy. There were 12 males, 6 females, with mean age of 55.1 yrs (range 39-77 yrs). All patients were HBsAg negative, non diabetic, and with no significant drug history or alcohol intake. Twenty liver biopsies were examined. Attempts to correlate severity of histological changes to dosage and duration of MTX therapy; and to the levels of raised SGPT at biopsy, failed to show any definite relationship. A variety of histological changes were seen in liver biopsies of MTX treated psoriatics, with 2 patients showing progression of histological changes following repeat biopsy.