| Disease | PROSPECTIVE-RANDOMIZED, HALF-SIDE COMPARISON STUDY WITH SUBSEQUENT, IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL ASSESSEMENT OF BIOPSIES. THE STUDY AREAS WERE TREATED WITH MAHONIA AQUIFOLIUM OINTMENT 3 X DAILY AND WITH DITHRANOL IN RISING CONCENTRATIONS 1 X DAILY,
RESPECTIVELY. BIOPSIES OF LESIONAL SKIN FROM THE TEST AREAS WERE CARRIED OUT IN 49 PATIENTS A) PRIOR TO THERAPY AND B) 4 WEEKS AFTER THE START OF THERAPY IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STAININGS WERE PERFORMED WITH THE FOLLOWING MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES:
ANTI-ICAM-1, -CD3,-HLA-DR,-KERATIN 6,-KERATIN 16. EVALUATION OF STAINING WAS MADE BY TWO INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS USING ESTABLISHED SEMIQUANTITATIVE SCORES. MARKED STAINING WITH ALL OF THE CITED MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES WAS OBSERVED IN TEH LESIONAL
PRIOR TO THERAPY. AFTER 4 WEEKS OF THERAPY THERE WAS A MARKED REDUCTION IN THE EXPRESSIONS OF ICAM-1, CD 3, HLA-DR AND KARATIN 6 AND 16. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER REDUCTIONS OF ICAM-1, CD3, AND HLA-DR AT SITES TREATED WITH DITHRANOL. THE
EXPRESSION OF KI-67 WAS NOT REDUCED BY EITHER THERAPY. THESE RESULTS INDICATED EFFICACY OF MAHONIA AQUIFOLIUM AND DITHRANOL IN PSORIATIC SKIN BOTH ON CELLULAR CUTANEOUS IMMUNE MACHANISMS AND ON THE HYPERPROLIFERATION OF KERATINOCYTES. THE EFFECT
OF DITHRANOL APPEARS TO BE MORE POTENT THAN THAT OF MAHONIA AQUIFOLIUM. |