Metformin cream for mild plaque psoriasis compared with a dummy cream
Tests metformin cream against a placebo cream in adults with mild psoriasis vulgaris.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Cairo University
- Where
- Cairo, EgyptSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Efficacy of Topical Metformin in Psoriasis Vulgaris
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- People taking part
- 55 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Apr 2026
- Planned end
- 1 Sept 2026
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Topical metformin 30% cream
- Placebo
- Record updated
- 13 April 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with mild chronic plaque psoriasis. It tests a metformin cream against a placebo cream.
- Age
- 18 years or older
- Sex
- Women and men can join.
- Disease stage
- Mild chronic plaque psoriasis: PASI < 10, body surface area (BSA) < 10% and/or Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) < 10.
- Earlier treatment
- Cannot have had systemic anti-psoriasis treatment in the last 3 months (retinoids are allowed) or skin treatments in the last 2 weeks. Cannot take systemic metformin.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Pustular psoriasis
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women
- Taking systemic metformin
- Taking drugs that can worsen psoriasis (anti-malarial drugs, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers) or NSAIDs in the last 2 weeks
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 9 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Patients ≥ 18 years old
- Patients of both genders
- Patients with mild chronic plaque psoriasis ((PASI) < 10, and body surface area (BSA) < 10% and/or Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) <10)
Who cannot take part
- Intake of anti-psoriatic systemic therapy within the last 3 months apart from retinoids, or topical treatments within the last 2 weeks
- Intake of other systemic drugs that exacerbate psoriasis as anti-malarial drugs, Angiotensin- converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), Ca channel blockers (CCBs) and beta blockers or intake of non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAID) within the last 2 weeks
- Intake of systemic metformin
- Patients with psoriatic arthritis
- Patients with pustular psoriasis
- Pregnant and Lactating females
Where in Egypt
- Cairo UniversityCairo, EgyptContact: Yasmine A Obaid, MScNo longer taking part
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if topical metformin works to treat mild psoriasis vulgaris. It will also learn about the safety of topical metformin. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Read full original descriptionShow less
Does topical metformin improve psoriatic plaques in early psoriasis? What medical problems do participants have when use topical metformin? Researchers will compare topical metformin to a placebo (a look-alike substance that contains no drug) to see if topical metformin works to treat psoriasis vulgaris.
Participants will:
put topical metformin or placebo twice daily for 2 months. Visit the clinic once every months for follow up. Keep a diary of their symptoms and any side effects.
Skin biopsy will be taken from psoriatic plaque before starting treatment and another one will be taken after 2 months of starting treatment to assess the level of IL-17.
The 2 groups in the trial
- MetforminExisting treatment, for comparison
patient with mild psoriasis with PASI less than 10% will receive topical metformin 30% cream twice daily
Treatment: Topical metformin 30% cream
- PlaceboPlacebo, for comparison
patients with mild psoriasis vulgaris will receive placebo cream twice daily
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Efficacy and Safety of Topical Metformin in Psoriasis Vulgaris: A Randomized, Double Blinded, Placebo-controlled Study.
- Plain-language title
- Metformin cream for mild plaque psoriasis compared with a dummy creamGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Record updated
- 13 April 2026