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Skin psoriasis (before and after) Credit: 2026 Cao at State Key Laboratory of Biomedical Analysis via SWNS<\/p>\n Skin psoriasis (before and after) Credit: 2026 Cao at State Key Laboratory of Biomedical Analysis via SWNS<\/p>\n
New research suggests a common skin disease with no cure could be treated with nutritional supplements.<\/p>\n
The B vitamin derivative showed \u201cencouraging\u201d results for reducing psoriasis symptoms in studies with both humans and mice.<\/p>\n
Psoriasis causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most often on the knees, elbows, and around the waist\u2014and the autoimmune condition has no cure.<\/p>\n
Now researchers in China have discovered that the vitamin B5 derivative called pantethine<\/a> limits the activity of immune cells that are key contributors to autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis.<\/p>\n Their findings, published in the<\/a> Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), show that pantethine helped alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis in a small human trial\u2014and also entirely prevented its development \\in mice.<\/p>\n The Beijing team explained that dendritic cells are specialized immune cells that help to coordinate the different parts of the immune system.<\/p>\n They can engulf and present foreign antigens to activate highly-specific T-cells, as well as secrete a range of immune signaling molecules to recruit other types of immune cells, promoting inflammation.<\/p>\n Because of their central role in directing immune responses, aberrant activation of dendritic cells is believed to underlie several autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis. But strategies around inflammatory diseases remain under-explored, says study co-lead author Dr. Wei-Na Zhang.<\/p>\n \u201cMetabolic pathways and their associated metabolites play vital roles in regulating immune cell function and autoimmune progression.<\/p>\n The levels of metabolic enzymes known as Vanins are elevated in the dendritic cells of patients with psoriasis and several other autoimmune diseases.<\/p>\n If you can deplete those enzymes, you can inhibit dendritic cell activation and limit their ability to activate T-cells. (In fact, treating mice with a drug that inhibits Vanins prevented the animals from developing psoriasis.)<\/p>\n Pantethine is a widely available nutritional supplement often used to lower cholesterol levels due to its ability to inhibit cholesterol synthesis.<\/p>\n MORE GOOD SKIN NEWS: This Common Fungus Found on Human Skin Wipes Out Deadly Superbug Staph Infections<\/a><\/p>\n Dr. Zhang said<\/a> Vanin enzymes convert the metabolite pantethine into vitamin B5, an essential nutrient required for cellular energy production.<\/p>\n His team at the State Key Laboratory of Biomedical Analysis said cholesterol had previously been shown to promote the activation of dendritic cells, and high blood cholesterol is a \u2018major risk factor for the development of psoriasis\u2019.<\/p>\n They determined that increased Vanin activity in dendritic cells reduces panthetine levels, leading to increased cholesterol synthesis and dendritic cell hyperactivation.<\/p>\n