How Is Psoriasis Treated?

Unfortunately, none of the available treatments for psoriasis is a cure. Treatment can often control the disease for long periods, but the disease can come back when treatment stops. But new biological therapies in development should offer better control while reducing the number of side effects.

Treatment for psoriasis varies depending on:

* the type of psoriasis
* the extent and severity of the disease (how much of the skin is affected and how badly)
* the age, sex, and lifestyle of the affected person
* how the affected person has responded to treatment in the past.

In general, doctors treat psoriasis in three steps.

Step 1: Medications applied to the skin (topical therapy)

Step 2: Treatments that use light (phototherapy)

Step 3: Medications given as a pill or injection (systemic therapy)

These treatments can be combined in various ways to try to get the best outcome. Finding the most effective treatment for an affected individual can involve a lot of trial and error. What works for one person may not work for someone else. People with severe and extensive psoriasis may get the most relief and avoid or reduce side effects when treatments are rotated.

Treatments for psoriasis can often control the disease for long periods. However, none of the available treatments is a cure. The disease can come back when treatment stops.

Biologic agents are being introduced for the treatment of psoriasis and have substantial advantages over previously used systemic therapies because they have fewer risks and side effects. Two of the therapies currently being used, etanercept and remicade, are already available for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. Both therapies are tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, which work by interfering with specific immune responses that are responsible for psoriasis.

Next post we will take a look at some steps.