LAUSR

INTRODUCTION Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder, affecting the trunk and extensor surfaces of limbs and scalp predominantly. Worldwide prevalence ranges between 0.1 and 11.4%, and in India between 0.4 and 2.8%; this creates a serious health burden. Psoriasis remains a frequently encountered condition in homeopathy practice, but there is a dearth of conclusive efficacy data supporting its use. METHODS This 6-month, double-blind, randomized trial was conducted on 51 patients suffering from psoriasis at the National Institute of Homoeopathy, India. Patients were randomized to receive either individualized homeopathic medicines (IHMs; n = 25) in LM potencies or identical-looking placebos (n=26). Psoriasis area and severity index (PASI; primary), psoriasis disability index (PDI), and dermatological life quality index (DLQI; secondary) were measured at baseline, and every 2 months, up to 6 months. The intention-to-treat sample was analyzed using a two-way repeated measure analysis of variance. RESULTS Although intra-group changes were significant in both groups in the outcome measures, improvements were significantly higher in the IHMs group than in placebos in PASI scores after 6 months of intervention (F1, 49 = 10.448, P = 0.002). DLQI daily activity subscale scores also yielded similar significant results favoring IHMs against placebos after 6 months (F1, 49 = 5.480, P = 0.023). Improvement in PDI total (F1, 49 = 0.063, P = 0.803), DLQI total (F1, 49 = 1.371, P = 0.247), and all remaining subscales were higher in the IHMs group than placebos after 6 months, but non-significant statistically. Calcarea carbonica, Mercurius solubilis, Arsenicum album, and Petroleum were the most frequently prescribed medicines. CONCLUSIONS IHMs exhibited better results than placebos in the treatment of psoriasis. Further research is warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION CTRI/2019/11/021917; UTN: U1111-1242-8843.