Patients with psoriasis apply bexarotene and placebo gels to randomly assigned sides of the body. The frequency of application will gradualy increase. Two weeks into the study narrow-band UVB phototherapy will be added to their regimen. Time commitment is 10 weeks.

Condition	Intervention	Phase
Psoriasis	Drug: Active Gel vs Placebo	Phase II

Further Study Details: 

Primary Outcomes: Mean decrease in target lesion size for drug- and placebo-treated sides. The mean and median changes in target lesion scores will be compared for drug- and vehicle-treated sides. Additionally, target lesions will be photographed.
Expected Total Enrollment:  35

Subjects will be applying active gel or placebo to target lesions to each side of the body in a blinded manner. They will start at three times a week and increase to daily or even twice a day regimen if tolerated. After 2 weeks of application, NBUVB will be added to treatment regimen (whole body, three times a week). Total study time is 10 weeks.

Ages Eligible for Study:  18 Years and above,  Genders Eligible for Study:  Both

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Patient must be a male or female aged 18 years or older
• Patient must have moderate to severe psoriasis vulgaris of at least 3% body surface area involvement
• Patient must have failed prior topical therapy
• Patient must be willing to minimize sun exposure, to use sun blockers if deemed necessary by the Investigator and to avoid use of tanning booths or other ultraviolet (UV) light sources
• Women of childbearing potential must have a negative urine ß-HCG pregnancy test with a sensitivity of at least 50 mIU/mL within seven days prior to starting of study gels and repeated every four weeks while patient remains on the study gels. All females of childbearing potential must agree to use 2 effective contraceptive methods or remain sexually abstinent one month prior to initiation of study drug, during the entire study period, and for one month after the last application of Targretin® gel 1%. Acceptable methods of birth control include: condoms with spermicide; diaphragm with spermicide; cervical cap with spermicide; spermicidal sponge; intrauterine device (IUD), oral contraceptives, Depo-Provera; contraceptive implants; vasectomy; or abstinence.
• Male patients must agree to use condoms with sexual partners of childbearing potential during the entire period of treatment and for at least one month after treatment is discontinued.
• Patients who are not sexually active and are not using contraception, must agree to use an approved method of contraception (as described above) should they become sexually active during the study

Exclusion Criteria

• Failure to understand the consent form
• Inability to comply with protocol requirements
• Pregnancy
• Inadequate birth control method
• Lactation
• Contraindication to use of topical retinoids
• Concomitant psoriasis therapies except for emollients and OTC shampoos
• Systemic psoriasis therapies, systemic Vitamin A in doses > 15,000IU/day, PUVA, (psoralen plus ultraviolet A irradiation), UVB, topical psoriasis therapies (other than emollients and OTC shampoos), other retinoid class drugs or investigational drugs within the past 1 month
• Current skin cancer
• History of previous melanoma
• History of skin sensitizing diseases (such as SLE)
• Concurrent medical illness that would make participation in this clinical trial ill-advised
• Patient unwilling or unable to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun or other UV light sources

Study chairs or principal investigators

Melissa Magliocco, MD,  Principal Investigator,  University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey   

Study ID Numbers:  4405
Last Updated:  September 7, 2005
Record first received:  September 6, 2005
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:  NCT00151008
Health Authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on 2005-09-13