Table 6.
Tabular summary
| Vitamin D3 and analogues | |
|---|---|
| First approved in Germany | |
| Calcipotriol | 1992 (Psoriasis vulgaris) |
| Tacalcitol | 1994 (Psoriasis vulgaris) |
| Calcitriol | 1999 (Psoriasis vulgaris) |
| Calcipotriol/Betamethasone | 2002 (Psoriasis vulgaris) |
| Recommended control parameters | Monitor for skin irritations |
| Recommended initial dosage | Calcipotriol: 1× to 2× daily to affected locations, up to a maximum of 30% of the body surface |
| Tacalcitol: 1× daily to affected locations, up to a maximum of 20% of the body surface | |
| Calcitriol: 2× daily to affected locations, up to a maximum of 35% of the body surface | |
| Recommended maintenance dosage | Calcipotriol: 1× to 2× daily, up to 100 g/week for up to 1 year |
| Tacalcitol: 1× daily for 8 weeks, for up to 18 months, on a maximum of 15% of the body surface with up to 3.5 g daily | |
| Calcitriol: insufficient experience with the application for more than 6 weeks | |
| Expected beginning of clinical effect | After 1–2 weeks |
| Response rate | Between 30 and 50% of the patients demonstrated a marked improvement or clearance of the lesions after 4–6 weeks (LE 1) |
| Important contraindications | Diseases with abnormal calcium metabolism, severe liver and renal diseases |
| Important ADRs | Skin irritation (reddening, itching, burning) |
| Important drug interactions | Drugs which elevate the calcium levels, (e.g. thiazide diuretics), no concomitant application of topical salicylic acid preparations (inactivation) |
| Other | Exposure to UV light results in inactivation of the vitamin D3-analogues |