Abstract
Clinical studies suggest a therapeutic role for occlusion in the treatment of psoriasis. Previous studies, using multiparameter RNA DNA flow cytometric analysis of epidermal suspensions obtained from active plaques, demonstrated increased keratinocyte growth fraction which reversed with successful medical treatment. Because keratinocyte growth fraction reflected disease activity, it was used in this study in addition to clinical evaluations in order to determine the efficacy of occlusion in the treatment of psoriatic plaques. In each of 9 patients, scale, skin thickness and erythema were compared in one occluded and one control plaque using an analog scale. Both scale and skin thickness, but not erythema, were decreased after 2 weeks of occlusion. However after 10 weeks, no additional differences were seen when compared with assessments made after 2 weeks, suggesting that the benefits of occlusive therapy occurred early. After 10 weeks of occlusion, the keratinocyte growth fraction was significantly decreased in occluded plaques. This study demonstrates that occlusion plays a synergistic role with other therapeutic modalities in ameliorating psoriatic plaques.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 93-96 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Dermatological Science |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1990 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Flow cytometry
- Occlusion
- Psoriasis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Dermatology