A widely available vitamin B5 derivative could help ease psoriasis, the chronic skin condition Kim Kardashian has discussed publicly for years, according to a study published on 27 October 2026.

Researchers in Beijing found that pantethine curbed the disease in mice, then saw symptoms improve in a small human trial. Kardashian was not involved in the research, and co-author Wei-Na Zhang described the human findings as proof-of-concept rather than definitive evidence of effectiveness.

How Pantethine Calmed Psoriasis in Mice

Scientists at the State Key Laboratory of Biomedical Analysis in Beijing, writing in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, focused on dendritic cells. These immune cells engulf foreign antigens, activate T cells and recruit other immune cells, helping coordinate inflammation. Aberrant activation is thought to underlie several autoimmune diseases, psoriasis among them.

The team found increased Vanin activity in activated dendritic cells from patients with autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis. In experiments, reducing Vanin activity limited dendritic-cell activation, while mice treated with a Vanin inhibitor showed less psoriasis-like inflammation.

Vanin enzymes break down pantethine to produce pantothenate, a form of vitamin B5. The researchers found that Vanin activity promoted cholesterol accumulation in dendritic-cell membranes, increasing their activation. By contrast, pantethine supplementation reduced cholesterol build-up and suppressed this immune-cell activity.

The researchers identified a link between Vanin activity, cholesterol metabolism and dendritic-cell activation. Their findings suggest that targeting this pathway could help reduce psoriasis-related inflammation, although further clinical research is needed.

Replenishing pantethine reduced cholesterol build-up and suppressed the cells' activity. Zhang said therapies targeting metabolism in inflammatory diseases remain underexplored.

Small Human Trial Points to Added Benefit

The trial involved 24 patients with psoriasis and lasted 12 weeks. Every participant used a topical calcipotriene and betamethasone ointment, and half also took pantethine tablets.

Patients who received pantethine alongside the topical treatment had greater improvements in psoriasis severity scores than those who received the topical treatment alone. The apparent additional benefit was particularly pronounced among participants who had elevated cholesterol levels at the start of the study.

Wei-Na Zhang, who co-led the research with colleagues from the PLA General Hospital's First Medical Center in Beijing, called the results encouraging but said they should be read as 'proof-of-concept for clinical feasibility' rather than confirmation of how the supplement works. Pantethine was tested as an add-on to standard treatment, not on its own, and the study was small.

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Kim Kardashian Has Spoken Publicly About Her Psoriasis Flare-Ups

Kardashian shared videos of a flare-up on her leg on 30 January 2024, describing it as painful and saying she was unsure what triggered it. On 31 January, she said she had wrapped her treated leg in plastic film overnight and that the itching had eased by morning.

On 19 January 2024, Kardashian responded on X to Allure's criticism of her tanning-bed use, writing: 'I have psoriasis and it really helps when it's bad.'

Psoriasis causes itchy, painful, scaly patches that come and go in flare-ups, and it has no known cure. Kardashian has previously linked her own flare-ups to stress, including on a 2023 episode of The Kardashians.

One specialist interviewed alongside Kardashian said about 80 per cent of people can manage psoriasis with topical treatments alone, including emollients, steroids, vitamin D analogues and phototherapy. About 8 per cent of people with skin psoriasis go on to develop psoriatic arthritis.

A separate pilot study at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, is testing whether another vitamin B derivative, nicotinamide riboside, improves immune function in adults aged 18 to 80 with mild to moderate psoriasis.

Participants take capsules twice daily for four weeks, and up to 40 people may be screened. Neither project involves Kardashian, whose psoriasis has been reported publicly since at least 2016.

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