Treatment Options for Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis
Title: Therapeutic options in the treatment
of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
Author: Gottlieb AB
Publication: J Am Acad Dermatol. 2005 Jul;53(1
Suppl 1):S3-16.
A variety of treatment agents are available for psoriasis and
atopic dermatitis (or atopic eczema). Topical agents are usually
prescribed for localized and milder forms of the disease, whereas
phototherapy using ultraviolet light and systemic agents (or drugs
that affect the whole body) are used for more severe disease or
those that affect more parts of the body.
Various combinations and sequences of topical and systemic treatments,
or both have been used for treating psoriasis and less frequently,
for atopic dermatitis.
Conventional systemic therapies for psoriasis, including:
- Oral calcineurin inhibitors (drugs that inhibit calcineurin,
an enzyme involved in inflammation)
- Corticosteroids
- Antimetabolites
- Retinoids (derivatives of vitamin A)
are limited due to their side effects. More recently, immunobiologic
agents (drugs that target the immune system and are derived from
living organisms or cell cultures) such as:
- Monoclonal antibodies (protein in the blood and tissues that
recognize and bind to specific antigen, thus forming the basis
of immunity)
- Recombinant cytokines (regulatory proteins that are released
by the immune system to act as intercellular mediator of immune
response)
- Fusion proteins (proteins composed of two separate domains
of two distinct proteins, usually used to impair protein-protein
interaction)
have been approved as drugs or are undergoing development as
potential anti-psoriatic treatment.
