BACKGROUND: Goeckerman's therapy (GT) of psoriasis is based on daily application of pharmacy grade coal tar on affected skin with subsequent exposure to UV light. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a newly identified acute phase reactant with non redundant functions in innate immunity. PTX3 has been shown to be a reliable prognostic marker in patients with various inflammatory disorders including rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, and psoriasis. METHODS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of Goeckerman's therapy of psoriasis on levels of two pentraxins: long pentraxin PTX3 and C reactive protein in 49 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. CRP was assessed by immunonephelometry on IMMAGE 800 (Beckman, USA). PTX3 was detected using sandwich ELISA detection set (Alexis Biochemicals, Switzerland). RESULTS: The serum levels of both parameters (expressed as average +/- 1 SD) were significantly diminished after GT. The level of PTX3 dropped from 1.92 +/- 0.72 ng/ml before GT to 1.66 +/- 0.58 ng/ml after GT (P= 0.0396) and the level of CRP fell from 4.64 +/- 3.93 mg/l to 1.66 +/- 0.58 mg/l (P < 0.0001).Comparing to healthy controls, the serum levels of both parameters before GT were significantly higher than those found in healthy blood donors and remained significantly increased after GT. CONCLUSION: Increased serum concentrations of pentraxin 3 and CRP are alleviated by GT in patients with psoriasis.

Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy Charles University Prague Czech Republic

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