The Effect of Methotrexate 1% Topical Gel on Psoriasis

 Background: Psoriasis is one of the most important chronic inflammatory skin diseases and affected about 3% of people all over the world. However, there is still no unique approach available for treatment of the disease despite of several performed studies regarding efficacy and safety of various drugs including methotrexate. Methods: This randomized double-blind study recruited 65 patients with documented psoriasis. Patients randomly divided into two groups to receive daily topical gel of methotrexate 1% (group-a) or placebo gel (group-B) for two months. Patients were followed up to four months. Findings: There were 65 patients, 48 male (75.3%) and 17 female (24.7%), with the mean age of 31±15.7 years and the mean value of diseases duration of 5.5±3.3 years. No significant difference was detected between the two groups of patients according to the response scale after four months. Conclusion: Present study showed that the topical gel methotrexate 1%, when prepared on a base of glycerin, is not effective in improvement of the psoriasis lesions and could not be considered as a first line treatment option in this disease (English). Copyright of Journal of Isfahan Medical School is the property of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract For access to this entire article and additional high quality information, please check with your college/university library, local public library, or affiliated institution