effect of pyrithione zinc in emollient base in the treatment of psoriasis

ABSTRACT

Psoriasis is a chronic common condition of the skin that is still resistant to many therapies. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of pyrithione zinc in emollient base and comparing with the effect of emollient alone in the treatment of psoriasis. This randomized double blind clinical trial study was performed on psoriasis patients involved less than 10% of body skin areas. Patients were randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups. Group A was treated with topical emollient cream containing 0.25% pyrithione zinc and group B was treated with topical emollient cream alone twice per day for 3 months. Severity of induration, erythema, and scaling were assessed based on the psoriasis Area Severity Index [PASI] score. Data obtained from both groups were analyzed using student-t test and paired-t test. From the total number of participants, 30 patients in group A and 30 patients in group B completed the study. The mean PASI score in group A before and after treatment were 3.4 +/- 1.8 and 0.9 +/- 1.3, respectively [P<0.01]. The mean PASI score in group B before and after treatment were 4.3 +/- 2 and 3.9 +/- 1.3, respectively [P>0.05]. Mean PASI score reduction was 2.4 +/- 2 in group A and 0.4 +/- 0.1 in group B [P<0.01]. The percent of decrease in mean PASI score was 70.5% in group A and 9.3% in group B. Topical formulation of pyrithione zinc in an emollient base can be used as a safe and effective treatment for psoriasis