Aggressive weight loss program with a ketogenic induction phase for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis: a proof-of-concept, single-arm, open label clinical trial
Giuseppe Castaldo Nutrition Available online 5 February 2020, 110757
Highlights
• Dietary weight loss (WL) interventions result in reduced obesity-related inflammation.
• Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is the main source of circulating adipocytokines.
• Very low-calorie ketogenic diets appear to result in higher reduction in VAT.
• Several RCTs have demonstrated the benefits of WL in reducing psoriasis severity.
• Efficacy of WL has been always investigated in combination with systemic treatments.
• We tested the efficacy of an aggressive WL program as first-line treatment for psoriasis
• A very low-calorie ketogenic diet followed by a Mediterranean one improved psoriasis
Objectives
Very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) has been associated with a significant reduction in visceral adipose tissue and ketone bodies likely possessing anti-inflammatory properties. We evaluated the efficacy of an aggressive WL program with a ketogenic induction phase as first-line treatment for chronic plaque psoriasis.
Research methods & procedures
Adult overweight/obese drug-naïve (never treated excluding use of topical emollients) patients (N=37; 30% males; age, 43.1±13.8 years) with stable chronic plaque psoriasis underwent a 10-week two-phase WL program consisting in a 4-week protein-sparing, VLCKD (<500 kcal/day; 1.2 grams of protein/kg of ideal body weight/day) and a 6-week balanced, hypocaloric (25-30 kcal/kg of ideal body weight/day), Mediterranean-like diet. The primary endpoint was the reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) at week 10. Major secondary endpoints included: PASI50 and PASI75 response, reduction in body surface area (BSA) involved, improvement in itch severity (visual-analogue scale) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) at week 10.
Results
With a mean body weight reduction of 12.0% (-10.6 kg), dietary intervention resulted in a significant reduction in PASI (baseline score, 13.8±6.9 [range, 7-32]): mean change, -10.6 [95%CI, -12.8 to -8.4] (P<0.001). A PASI50 and PASI75 response was recorded in 36 (97.3%) and 24 (64.9%) patients, respectively. Treatment resulted also in a significant reduction (P<0.001) in BSA involved (-17.4%) and an improvement in itch severity (-33.2 points) and DLQI (-13.4 points).
Conclusions
In drug-naïve adult overweight patients with stable chronic plaque psoriasis an aggressive dietary WL program consisting in a very low-calorie ketogenic regimen followed by a balanced, hypocaloric Mediterranean-like diet appeared to be an efficacious first-line strategy for improving disease severity.