Treatment of scalp psoriasis with topical selenium sulphide alone or in combination with Grenz rays

Abstract

Psoriasis commonly affects the scalp and may represent a Koebner response to colonization with the Pityrosporon yeast microorganism. To test if treatment with topical selenium sulphide could induce longer remission times after healing of psoriasis of the scalp, we have performed a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study of a shampoo containing selenium sulphide, proved to be active against the yeast. One group of 16 patients was treated with shampoo alone and one group of 36 patients was treated with shampoo in combination with Grenz rays (4 Gy weekly for 6 weeks), known to have a beneficial effect on psoriasis of the scalp. The results indicated that there may be a longer remission time with selenium sulphide shampoo in combination with Grenz rays compared to placebo shampoo and Grenz rays, although this difference was not statistically significant. The differences in severity scores before and after treatment between the selenium sulphide and placebo shampoo groups and between the selenium sulphide shampoo with Grenz rays and placebo shampoo with Grenz rays groups, was not statistically significant.