title: Topical Therapies for Psoriasis: Improving Management Strategies and Patient Adherence.
abstract: Psoriasis is a chronic disease that has a substantial effect on quality of life of patients and often needs long-term treatment. Topical treatments for psoriasis include corticosteroids, vitamin D derivatives, tazarotene, anthralin, tacrolimus, pimecrolimus, and newer formulations of tar. Although many of these treatments are effective, they must be prescribed appropriately and used consistently for a period of weeks to months before clinical evidence of improvement can be seen and patients perceive that the treatment is working. As such, medication dosage/schedule, choice of vehicle, and especially patient adherence to medication are key factors for a treatment to be effective. Addressing patient preferences about treatments and concerns about treatment-related toxicities and managing their expectations represent additional aspects of patient care. Therapies such as calcipotriene and betamethasone dipropionate (Cal/BD) fixed combination foam and new drugs and vehicles continuously enhance the treatment landscape for psoriasis. Because adherence to topical treatment can be a major difficulty, keeping the treatment regimen simple and using new and sophisticated treatment vehicles that are acceptable to patients can likely improve treatment outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Director of Dermatology Research Henry Ford Health System Detroit, Michigan.
authors.forename: Linda F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Stein Gold
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000875:Anthralin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D009539:Nicotinic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010349:Patient Compliance; D014677:Pharmaceutical Vehicles / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012176:Retinoids
chemical_list: D000875:Anthralin; D001623:Betamethasone; D002117:Calcitriol; D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D009539:Nicotinic Acids; D014677:Pharmaceutical Vehicles; D016559:Tacrolimus; D014807:Vitamin D; C055085:calcipotriene; C117268:pimecrolimus; C086827:tazarotene; D012176:Retinoids; C011175:betamethasone-17,21-dipropionate
keywords: Allergy; corticosteroids; foam vehicle; medication adherence; psoriasis; topical therapy; vitamin D