Danish study reveals efficacy of combination therapy in treating scalp psoriasis

Copenhagen, Denmark — Danish researchers have found that combination therapy using betamethasone dipropionate and calcipotriene is more effective for treating scalp psoriasis than either component alone, HealthDay News reports.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen analyzed data from 1,505 patients suffering mild to very severe scalp psoriasis. Over an eight-week period, the patients were randomized to daily treatments with betamethasone dipropionate and calcipotriene combined, either of the drugs alone or only the vehicle used in the other formulations.

Results show that 71.2 percent of the patients in the combination group achieved absent or very mild disease, compared with 64 percent in the betamethasone dipropionate group, 36.8 percent in the calcipotriene group and 22.8 percent in the vehicle group. Researchers write that most adverse events were judged to be non-related to the treatment and that the proportion of patients experiencing at least one adverse event was higher in the calcipotriene group.

“Cosmetic acceptability has been identified as an important concern in any topical treatment, as it may impact patient compliance, which in turn will affect treatment efficacy,” the authors write. “The development of the scalp formulation vehicle, which is less greasy and messy than an ointment and is washed out of the hair more easily, addresses this concern.”

The study was sponsored by LEO Pharma A/S. Several of the study’s co-authors disclosed financial relationships with a number of companies, including LEO Pharma. The research appears in the September issue of the

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

.