HIV Infections, Psoriasis
Conditions
Keywords
Psoriasis, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, AIDS-Related Complex, Acitretin
Brief summary
To determine the efficacy of acitretin in the treatment of psoriasis in HIV/AIDS patients. Etretinate, a retinoid, has proven successful in the treatment of HIV-infected patients with psoriasis, but it has an elimination half-life of 100 days. Acitretin, a metabolite of etretinate, has a much shorter half-life of 2 to 3 days. Acitretin has proven effective in treating psoriasis in patients without HIV infection by reducing skin involvement and clearing of the condition, but it has not been thoroughly evaluated in HIV-infected patients.
Detailed description
Etretinate, a retinoid, has proven successful in the treatment of HIV-infected patients with psoriasis, but it has an elimination half-life of 100 days. Acitretin, a metabolite of etretinate, has a much shorter half-life of 2 to 3 days. Acitretin has proven effective in treating psoriasis in patients without HIV infection by reducing skin involvement and clearing of the condition, but it has not been thoroughly evaluated in HIV-infected patients. Patients receive acitretin daily, with dose increases every 4 weeks based on quantitative assessment of the skin using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Treatment continues for a total of 20 weeks. Patients are followed every 2 weeks.
Interventions
DRUGAcitretin
Sponsors
Hoffmann-La Roche
Study design
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Concurrent Medication: Allowed: * Any nondermatologic medication. Patients must have: * HIV infection. * Psoriasis involving at least 10 percent of body surface.
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed