To the Editor.—
We have administered the aromatic retinoid etretinate to a series of 59 patients, 34 of whom had psoriasis and 25 of whom had nonpsoriatic disease. The drug dosages were as follows: 1 mg/kg/day for one month, 0.66 mg/kg/day for one month, and 0.33 mg/kg/day for one month. At the end of three months, the dose of etretinate was adjusted according to the efficacy and tolerance of the drug.We found no abnormalities in the peripheral blood cell counts or blood glucose, serum creatinine, serum nonprotein, and nitrogen levels in the treated patients. In a few cases, abnormalities in liver function test results or blood lipid levels were noted as follows: increased levels of SGOT (three patients, 5.6%), increased levels of SGPT (three patients, 5.6%), elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase (four patients, 7.3% ), and increased concentrations of triglycerides (12 patients, 20%) and cholesterol (12 patients, 20% ). However, these