A 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the effects of acitretin (15 mg/day) and placebo versus pioglitazone (15 mg/day) and acitretin (25 mg/day) in 41 patients with moderate-severe chronic plaque-type psoriasis. The primary outcome measure was the change in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score between the two groups from baseline to 12 weeks. In the acitretin monotherapy group the mean PASI score fell from a mean of 19.7 at baseline to 10.0 at 12 weeks. In the acitretin/pioglitazone group it fell from a mean of 17.5 at baseline to 6.0 at 12 weeks (p=0.04 vs. acitretin). The percentage reduction was 64.2% and 51.7% in the co-therapy and acitretin ...