Research Area: Inflammation
Biological Activity:
Acitretin is a second generation retinoid. It is taken orally, and is typically used for psoriasis. It is a metabolite of etretinate, which was used prior to the introduction of acitretin. Etretinate was discontinued because it had a narrow therapeutic index as well as a long elimination half-life (t1/2=120 days), making dosing difficult. In contrast, acitretin’s half-life is approximately 2 days. [1]