Speaker: ‘Localized psoriasis is still important psoriasis’
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WAILEA, Hawaii — Treating localized, mild to moderate psoriasis is incredibly important to patients and there are many topical options to utilize in this endeavor, according to a speaker at the Maui Derm meeting.
“We can’t talk about psoriasis without talking about topical therapy and localized psoriasis. The biggest misconception about localized psoriasis is still that localized psoriasis doesn’t matter,” Linda Stein Gold, MD, director of dermatology clinical research at Henry Ford Health, said during her presentation. “For those patients who have 3% body surface area or less, over half of them consider their disease to be moderate or severe.”
Treating localized, mild to moderate psoriasis is incredibly important to patients and there are many topical options to utilize in this endeavor. Source: Adobe Stock.
Whereas topical corticosteroids have been a mainstay of treatment for localized psoriasis, newer options including fixed combinations and nonsteroid topicals are now offering relief.
“We need them in our armamentarium, but I think in our minds they do a whole lot better than they actually do,” Stein Gold added, citing tolerability issues such as stinging and burning and efficacy rates that are lower than ideal.
However, fixed combinations — such as calcipotriene/betamethasone dipropionate and tazarotene/halobetasol lotion — can increase efficacy while minimizing tolerability issues.
Additionally, nonsteroidal topical drugs such as tapinarof and roflumilast can offer high levels of efficacy in almost every part of the body without negative effects.
“What’s unique about these nonsteroidals, we have one-stop shopping,” Stein Gold said, adding that they can be used on the face, in skin folds and sensitive areas and near the eyes without stinging and burning at application sites or other problems.
Lastly, Stein Gold discussed recent advances in the treatment of scalp psoriasis including a roflumilast foam formulation, which was found to reduce itch in around 70% of patients.
“The bottom line is localized psoriasis is still important psoriasis,” she said. “We have been given the tools to get these patients under control and we have the ability to change lives.”