The therapeutic potential of calcipotriol in diseases other than psoriasis.

BACKGROUND

Calcipotriol is a vitamin D analog, which has antiproliferative and anti- inflammatory effects, and stimulates terminal differentiation. It has been an established treatment for psoriasis since 1991 in Europe and 1994 in the USA.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the clinical efficacy of topical calcipotriol in diseases other than psoriasis.

RESULTS

A total of 36 original papers were found describing 21 different diseases in which the clinical use of calcipotriol ointment was described as having an effect. These papers were predominantly case reports (n = 22) and observational studies (n = 5), but nine papers described small randomized controlled trials.

CONCLUSIONS

Calcipotriol may generally be effective in diseases characterized by pathogenic elements, such as impaired differentiation or increased keratinocyte proliferation, and activated T lymphocytes. This study of the existing literature suggests that randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of calcipotriol therapy may be worthwhile in a number of diseases.