Reduced excretion of the main urinary metabolite of prostaglandin F1 alpha and F2 alpha in psoriatic patients

Abstract

Twenty-four hour excretion of main urinary metabolite of prostaglandin F1 alpha and F2 alpha (PGF-MUM) in 18 patients with stable psoriasis (9 males and 9 females) and 18 almost age-matched healthy subjects (9 males and 9 females) was examined. The mean excretion level of PGF-MUM in male psoriatic patients (15.2 +/- 4.0 micrograms/day) was significantly lower than that in male healthy subjects (22.8 +/- 3.3 micrograms/day) (p less than 0.01). A similar tendency was observed between female psoriatic patients (10.6 +/- 3.0 micrograms/day) and female healthy subjects (13.3 +/- 2.4 micrograms/day) although the difference in the excretion level was not so remarkable (p = 0.05) compared with male subjects. These results suggest an altered endogenous prostaglandin synthesis in psoriatic patients.