[Retinoid PUVA (RePUVA): systemic combination therapy in psoriasis].

RePUVA is a new therapeutic approach in psoriasis, consisting in oral administration of a retinoid derivative and systemic PUVA treatment. The retinoid (Ro 10-9359) was given daily (50--75 mg) before, simultaneously and, before and simultaneously with PUVA. The overall response was 73%; however, 14 patients resistant to previous standard PUVA treatment also responded surprisingly well to RePUVA. If PUVA-resistent patients were excluded, the overall response was 82.6%. The mean number of treatments required for clearing was 19.4 +/- 6.1, the mean total UVA-dose 57.9 +/- 32.3 J/cm2 and the mean duration of treatment was 55.4 +/- 14.1 days, including pretreatment with retinoid. It seems that RePUVA may be most successful if the retinoid is given before and with PUVA: 33.7 +/- 8.7 J/cm2 in 17.0 +/- 4.7 sessions were then required for clearing. Compared with previous results of our group and recent publications these findings indicate that the RePUVA schedule may reduce the duration of treatment and the total UVA-dose and, therefore, the possible long-term hazards of PUVA management. In addition, RePUVA can be successfully applied in patients resistant to standard PUVA.