Vitamin B12 Cream Containing Avocado Oil in the Therapy of Plaque Psoriasis

Abstract

Background: There are already many effective topical therapies available for use in the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. Unfortunately, these treatments are often associated with a rather significant risk of undesirable effects. Objective and Methods: In this randomized, prospective clinical trial, the effects of the vitamin D₃ analog calcipotriol were evaluated against those of a recently developed vitamin B₁₂ cream containing avocado oil in an intraindividual right/left-side comparison. The trial population consisted of 13 patients, 10 men and 3 women, with chronic plaque psoriasis. The observation period was 12 weeks; the effects of therapy were assessed on the basis of a PASI score adapted to the right/left-side comparison technique, the subjective evaluations of the investigator and patients and the results of 20-MHz sonography. Results: There was a more rapid development of beneficial effects with the use of calcipotriol in the initial 8 weeks, although differences in effects were significant only at the time point of therapy week 8 (p < 0.05). After 12 weeks, neither the PASI score nor 20-MHz sonography showed significant differences between the two treatments. While the efficacy of the calcipotriol preparation reached a maximum in the first 4 weeks and then began to subside, the effects of the vitamin B₁₂ cream containing avocado oil remained at a constant level over the whole observation period. This would indicate that the vitamin B₁₂ preparation containing avocado oil may be suitable for use in long-term therapy, a hypothesis further supported by the fact that the investigator and the patients assessed the tolerability of the vitamin B₁₂ cream containing avocado oil as significantly better in comparison with that of calcipotriol. Conclusion: The results of this clinical trial provide evidence that the recently developed vitamin B₁₂ cream containing avocado oil has considerable potential as a well-tolerated, long-term topical therapy of psoriasis.