Penicillin for Psoriasis
Title: Long-term use of penicillin for the treatment
of chronic plaque psoriasis.
Authors: Saxena VN, Dogra J
Publication: Eur J Dermatol. 2005 Sep-Oct;15(5):359-62.
Underlying streptococcal infection with no clinical manifestation
might be responsible for chronic plaque psoriasis. In this 2-year
open study, the authors investigated 30 patients with moderate
to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. The majority of the patients
(21 out of 30) had had this condition for 5 years or more and
had been treated for psoriasis with no significant improvement
and frequent recurrence.
The authors gave benzathine penicillin antibiotic 1.2 million
units by intramuscular injection every two weeks. After 24 weeks,
the dosage was reduced to 1.2 million units per month. The patients
were assessed to detect side effects and observe the progress
of the psoriasis at regular intervals.
The authors noted that after 12 weeks of treatment, the patients
had improvement in PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) score.
All patients showed excellent improvement at 2 years, with good
tolerance to the therapy. The authors suggested a follow-up, controlled
study to confirm the benefits of long-term use of benzathine penicillin
in psoriasis treatment.
