Dose Ranging Study to Compare the Efficacy and Safety of Methotrexate in Plaque Type Psoriasis

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients with plaque-type psoriasis having more than 10% body surface area involvement (severe psoriasis).20 * Patients of either sex with age between 18-65 years. * Females who were postmenopausal or tubectomised or have completed their family size and are willing to maintain contraception 1 month before, during and 1 month after completion/stopping of treatment and negative pregnancy test 2 weeks before starting of treatment and at day 2 or 3 of a normal menstrual cycle. * Males who were willing to maintain contraception during and 3 months after completion/stopping of treatment. Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnant or lactating women. * Any abnormalities in renal function, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease or neuropsychiatric illness. * Significant abnormalities in liver function (serum bilirubin, AST, ALT, and ALP \>1.5 times the upper limit of normal), viral hepatitis or cirrhosis. * history of excessive alcohol consumption. * Severe anemia, leucopenia or thrombocytopenia. * Active infectious disease or immune system deficiency including AIDS. * history of intolerance/hypersensitivity to methotrexate. * history of phototherapy in past 6 months. * Patients who had received any systemic treatment for psoriasis in the past 4 weeks and topical treatment in the past 2 weeks. * Body mass index (BMI) \> 30 kg/m2.