Pantethine Added to Topical Therapy in Small Psoriasis Trial

Researchers investigated pantethine, a vitamin B5 derivative, after finding elevated Vanin enzymes in dendritic cells from people with psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases. In laboratory studies, reducing Vanin activity lowered dendritic-cell activation and T-cell stimulation. Pantethine reduced cholesterol accumulation and immune activation in cells, and treatment prevented psoriasis from developing in mice.

The researchers also conducted a small clinical trial involving 24 patients with psoriasis. All received topical calcipotriene/betamethasone; half also took pantethine tablets. After 12 weeks, the group receiving pantethine had greater improvement in psoriasis symptoms. The reported benefit was especially noticeable among participants with high cholesterol at baseline. The source does not provide numerical symptom scores or further details about trial allocation.

The results suggest pantethine may warrant investigation as an adjunct to established topical treatment, but they do not support changing clinical practice. The trial was small, and the researchers describe the human findings as proof of concept. They also note that the clinical results do not establish that the Vanin–pantethine–cholesterol mechanism observed in laboratory experiments explains the apparent improvement in patients. Larger studies are needed to confirm efficacy.