Troglitazone May Be Useful in Treating Psoriasis
A diabetic drug treating a skin disease? Not so hard to swallow if you really understand how each system of the body interacts. Western medicine has divided itself into specialities based on organ systems, but that’s not how the body works, so many specialists cannot grasp a gastrointestinal problem causing a neurological, dermatological or even cardiovascular problem. Of course, don’t forget that trolitazone was pulled off the market recently because of liver damage.
Arch Dermatol 2000;136:609-616 Troglitazone, an insulin-sensitizing agent, may also be useful in treating psoriasis, according to findings published in the May issue of the Archives of Dermatology. In studying the mechanism, the investigators found that PPAR-gamma was indeed expressed in human keratinocytes, and that troglitazone inhibited the growth of both normal and psoriatic keratinocytes. However, the drug did not affect the growth of human dermal fibroblasts. After treating organ cultures of human psoriatic skin with troglitazone, the skin became “qualitatively near normal,” the researchers report.