Current evidence on the role of lipid lowering drugs in the treatment of psoriasis

Jiao Wang; Shuo Zhang; Meng Xing; Seokgyeong Hong; Liu Liu; Xiao-Jie Ding; Xiao-Ying Sun; Ying Luo; Chun-Xiao Wang; Miao Zhang; Bin Li; Xin Li

doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.900916

Current evidence on the role of lipid lowering drugs in the treatment of psoriasis

Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Aug 11:9:900916. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.900916. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jiao Wang^{1

2}, Shuo Zhang^{1

2}, Meng Xing³, Seokgyeong Hong^{1

2}, Liu Liu^{1

2}, Xiao-Jie Ding^{1

2}, Xiao-Ying Sun^{1

2}, Ying Luo^{1

2}, Chun-Xiao Wang^{1

2}, Miao Zhang^{1

2}, Bin Li^{2

4}, Xin Li^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Institute of Dermatology, Shanghai Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Dermatology, Shaanxi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an, China.
⁴ Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background: Abnormal lipid distribution is observed in patients with psoriasis, which increases their risk for atherosclerosis. Lipid-lowering drugs have a certain curative effect in the treatment of psoriasis, but there is no relevant evidence-based medical evaluation.

Objective: The purpose of this systematic evaluation was to assess the efficacy, safety, and potential mechanisms of action of lipid-lowering drugs for the treatment of psoriasis.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Clinical Trial, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang Database were searched for relevant articles from inception to 31 December 2021. The RevMan 5.3 and Cochrane risk-of-bias tool were used for data analysis and risk assessment, respectively. The psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score is the primary outcome indicator in clinical studies. Based on preclinical studies, we elucidated and mapped the action mechanisms of lipid-lowering drugs in the treatment of psoriasis.

Results: The study included eight randomized controlled studies, four single-arm studies, and four in vitro studies. The results showed that lipid-lowering drugs, particularly statins, administered both orally and topically, can significantly improve psoriatic skin lesions and reduce the PASI scores [standardized mean difference, (SMD): -0.94; 95% CI: [-1.58, -0.31]; p = 0.004]. Oral statins performed best at week eight (SMD: -0.92; 95% CI: [-1.39, -0.44]; p = 0.0001). The mechanism of lipid-lowering drugs in the treatment of psoriasis may be related to the inhibition of keratinocyte proliferation, inhibition of CCL20-CCR6 interaction, and reduction in the levels of inflammatory factors.

Limitations: There are few studies on lipid-lowering drugs and psoriasis, and their small sample sizes may render the evidence unconvincing.

Conclusion: The present findings suggest that lipid-lowering drugs are relieving symptoms in psoriasis. Lipid-lowering drugs, particularly statins, can be used to treat psoriasis with good efficacy and few side effects.

Keywords: lipid metabolism; lipid-lowering drugs; meta-analysis; psoriasis; statins; systematic review.

Publication types

Systematic Review