Semaglutide reduced pro-inflammatory markers and improved psoriatic skin lesions in obese patients with type 2 diabetes in a randomized clinical trial.
Psoriasis improvedSemaglutide reduced both inflammatory blood markers and visible psoriatic skin lesions in obese diabetic patients
What the researchers found
Semaglutide reduced serum pro-inflammatory factors (CRP, cytokines, homocysteine) and improved psoriatic lesion severity in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.
Why it matters
Many patients have both diabetes and psoriasis. If semaglutide can treat both simultaneously, it simplifies treatment and addresses the shared inflammatory mechanisms driving both diseases.
The numbers in context
31 patients: 15 semaglutide + metformin, 16 control (metformin alone). 12-week trial. Psoriasis severity and CRP, cytokines, and homocysteine measured.
How the study worked
Open-label, randomized clinical trial investigating semaglutide effects on serum inflammatory markers and psoriasis clinical severity in obese T2D patients.
Who was studied
Obese adults with T2D and psoriasis
What this study cannot tell us
Open-label design — patients and clinicians knew who received semaglutide, potentially biasing assessments. Cannot separate anti-inflammatory effects from weight loss effects on psoriasis.
How to read the evidence
Randomized clinical trial, though open-label design is a limitation. Provides stronger evidence than observational reports of skin improvements with GLP-1 drugs.
When this study was published
Published in 2025, providing randomized trial evidence for GLP-1 drug effects on psoriasis.
The bigger picture
This adds to evidence that GLP-1 drugs have systemic anti-inflammatory effects that benefit conditions far beyond diabetes, including autoimmune skin diseases.
Questions still open
- Would semaglutide help psoriasis patients who do not have diabetes?
- How does semaglutide's psoriasis benefit compare to dedicated biologic psoriasis treatments?
Common questions
Can semaglutide help with psoriasis?
Is psoriasis connected to diabetes?
Read the original research
Effects of Semaglutide Treatment on Psoriatic Lesions in Obese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Open-Label, Randomized Clinical Trial.
Biomolecules, 15(1)
Citation
Petković-Dabić, Jelena; Binić, Ivana; Carić, Bojana; Božić, Ljiljana; Umičević-Šipka, Sanja; Bednarčuk, Nataša; Dabić, Saša; Šitum, Mirna; Popović-Pejičić, Snježana; Stojiljković, Miloš P; Škrbić, Ranko. (2025). Effects of Semaglutide Treatment on Psoriatic Lesions in Obese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Open-Label, Randomized Clinical Trial.. Biomolecules, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15010046