Will 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, MC 903, and their analogues herald a new pharmacologic era for the treatment of psoriasis?

Rationale for use and clinical responsiveness of hexafluoro-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3for the treatment of plaque psoriasis: a pilot study

“…Several clinical studies have reported a beneficial response of psoriasis to active vitamin D compounds, including calcitriol, 1α‐hydroxyvitamin D 3 , calcipotriol (calcipotriene), and 1,24‐dihydroxyvitamin D 3 (tacalcitol) 1–6,8 , 20–24 . Perez et al 7 .…”

“…In addition, the medication is not universally effective and needs to be used twice daily. Furthermore, several studies have reported a contact and irritant dermatitis in about 15% of patients as a side‐effect of topical application of calcipotriol, that necessitated halting the medication 4,22 , 23,25 . Evaluation of once daily topical application of tacalcitol ointment (4 µg g −1 ), showed that it is an efficacious therapy for psoriasis vulgaris, but symptoms of local skin irritation were observed in 12·3% of patients 24 .…”

Serum calcium and phosphorus measurements in patients with psoriasis: a retrospective review

“…Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of vitamin D and its analogues in the treatment of psoriasis [4,6,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Conflicting reports of differences in vitamin D levels in psoriasis patients coupled with the knowledge that patients with vitamin D deficiency or inborn errors of vitamin D metabolism do not exhibit an increased incidence of psoriasis has led some investigators to suggest that a deficiency of vitamin D or a systemic aberration of vitamin D metabolism does not play a role in the etiology of psoriasis [13].…”

Vitamin D receptor ablation alters skin architecture and homeostasis of dendritic epidermal T cells

“…The effectiveness of 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 treatment has been demonstrated in various skin diseases with altered epidermal differentiation (e.g. psoriasis vulgaris) 13,14 …”