A Promising Approach to Psoriasis Vulgaris Management with N-Acetylcysteine and Vitamin E: Targeting the Interplay of Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress.

Background: Psoriasis is a persistent, inflammatory skin disease with autoimmune characteristics. Beyond the obvious signs of skin lesions, it has negative systemic repercussions that impair the patient's quality of life. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) alone or in combination with Vitamin E in the treatment of mild to moderate active psoriasis vulgaris. Methods: This study was an open-label, prospective, randomized, controlled interventional clinical trial conducted at Cairo Hospital for Dermatology and Venereology (Al-Haud Al-Marsoud). In total, 45 patients with mild to moderate symptoms were randomly assigned to three groups, with fifteen patients each, as follows: the control group received the standard psoriatic treatment of topical steroids and salicylic acid; the acetylcysteine group received standard psoriatic treatment in addition to NAC 600 mg per day 30 min prior to breakfast for 8 weeks; and the acetylcysteine and Vitamin E group received standard psoriatic treatment in addition to NAC 600 mg per day, in a similar way of dosing like the previous group, and Vitamin E 1000 mg per day. All participants performed a comprehensive assessment including hematological parameters, the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), malondialdehyde (MDA), and interleukin-36 gamma (IL-36γ). Results: The treatment strategy involving the use of NAC alone and in combination with Vitamin E showed significant improvement in the assessed parameters compared to the control group receiving conventional therapy. The acetylcysteine group showed improvements of 41% in PASI and 49.4% in DLQI, a decrease of 34.3% in MDA, and a decrease of 31% in IL-36γ. Similarly, the acetylcysteine and Vitamin E group showed improvements of 52% in PASI and 42% in DLQI, a decrease of 37% in MDA, and a decrease of 35% in IL-36γ. There were no significant differences found between the N-acetylcysteine and N-acetylcysteine and Vitamin E groups. Moreover, significant positive correlations were found between MDA, IL-36γ, and PASI at baseline and after the third follow-up. Conclusions: This study found promising therapeutic benefits in the addition of NAC to the conventional therapy in psoriatic patients with mild to moderate symptoms, as it significantly improved psoriasis disease outcomes and improved the patient's quality of life. However, the addition of Vitamin E to the NAC regimen did not show additional benefits.