Serum TNF-alpha in psoriasis after treatment with propylthiouracil, an antithyroid thioureylene.

Autor: Elias AN; Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of California, Irvine Medical Center, 101 The City Drive, Orange, California 92868, USA. anelias@uci.edu, Nanda VS, Pandian R
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC dermatology [BMC Dermatol] 2004 Apr 30; Vol. 4, pp. 4. Date of Electronic Publication: 2004 Apr 30.
DOI: 10.1186/1471-5945-4-4
Abstrakt: Background: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and its receptors play important roles in the development and persistence of psoriatic plaques. The antithyroid thioureylenes, propylthiouracil and methimazole, are effective in the treatment of patients with psoriasis with a significant number of patients showing clearing or near clearing of their lesions after a several weeks of treatment.
Methods: The present study examined the effect of treatment with propylthiouracil, given in a dose of 100 mg every 8 hours for 3 months, on the serum levels of TNF-alpha in 9 patients with plaque psoriasis.
Results: Propylthiouracil therapy did not result in a significant decline in serum TNF-alpha concentrations.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that the therapeutic effect of propylthiouracil in psoriasis appears not to be related to any change in the concentration of TNF-alpha but occurs via an anti-proliferative mechanism as we have previously speculated.
Databáze: MEDLINE