The £1-a-day supplement that could banish debilitating psoriasis - without side effects

Published: 11:26 EDT, 27 October 2026 | Updated: 11:28 EDT, 27 October 2026 A supplement that costs £1 a day could see painful patches of psoriasis virtually vanish, a study suggests.Scientists found pantethine, an extract of vitamin B5, deactivated immune cells that drive the debilitating skin condition.Patients who took two daily pills for three months saw a dramatic improvement in visible signs of psoriasis - as well as symptoms such as itching and pain. The Chinese researchers said their findings offer a potential new method of treating the condition, which is currently incurable.Psoriasis, which affects around one in 50 Britons, is caused by an immune system fault that drives fighter cells to attack healthy skin tissue.Reality star Kim Kardashian famously suffers the condition, and often shares images of her flare-ups with her 344 million Instagram followers. While a range of promising new treatments have emerged over the last decade, many of them involve side effects such as skin irritation, nausea and increased vulnerability to infections.The latest study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, was conducted in two parts. Before and after pictures show the effectiveness of the supplement after 12 weeks of use Reality television star Kim Kardashian revealed she had been diagnosed with psoriasis seven years agoInitially, the researchers treated mice with the supplement for six days.When compared with a group of animals who weren't exposed to the nutrient, the pantethine group saw both reduced psoriasis patches and fewer signs of inflammation.Next the scientists - from the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing - tested the supplement on 24 people over a period of around three months.All of the participants continued with their typical treatment of topical creams such as steroid or vitamin D ointments. Half also took 600mg of pantethine twice-daily.At the end of the study, those in the supplement group scored better on symptom severity tests and showed visible signs of improvement.The supplement is thought to work by reducing the activity of immune cells that cause psoriasis. Crucially, no significant side effects were reported by participants in the trial. However, experts warn that pantethine can sometimes cause diarrhoea, heartburn, itching and stomach upset. Commenting on the findings, study author and researcher Wei-Na Zhang said the 'encouraging' results show that pantethine could be effective for psoriasis, but that larger studies are needed.Currently, treatments include vitamin D creams, lotions and ointments, as well as steroid creams, moisturisers and coal tar. People with more severe psoriasis may also be offered light therapy or medicines prescribed by a specialist.