Optimizing therapy: tazarotene in combination with phototherapy.

Type:Uv phototherapy Time:2017-10-10 11:18:13

Phototherapy is often used in combination with other antipsoriatic treatments in an attempt to improve efficacy and

reduce patients' cumulative exposure to radiation. Although this aim has been achieved with some combinations, the

additional therapies often introduce a potential risk of other tolerability and safety problems. The efficacy of

tazarotene reported in clinical trials to date suggest that this drug may help to improve the efficacy of

phototherapy, and perhaps reduce the ultraviolet light exposure required without introducing additional, clinically

significant problems. Preliminary results from the first 10 patients in a clinical trial investigating such

combination therapy are reported here. They demonstrate that the addition of tazarotene to UVB phototherapy increases

the percentage of patients achieving treatment success (> or = 50% global improvement in psoriasis) from 60% to 100%

at Day 81. The UVB plus tazarotene combination achieved consistently greater reductions in the elevation and scaling

of difficult-to-treat psoriatic plaques than UVB phototherapy alone or UVB phototherapy plus vehicle gel. The

tazarotene combination therapy also achieved initial treatment success in less than half the time needed with

phototherapy alone (median of 32 vs. 67 days). Combining UVB phototherapy with tazarotene treatment appears to offer a

valuable therapeutic option that is more efficacious and faster than UVB phototherapy alone.

www.kerneluvb.com----The leader manufacturer of UVB Phototherapy.