Meet the new guard: Interleukin blockers
“For the first time ever, the newest biologics can take someone from having psoriasis to no psoriasis. They are completely clear,” says Mark Kauffman, MD, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Given by shot or intravenous (IV) infusion, biologics are reserved for people with moderate to severe psoriasis. In the past, biologic drugs tended to aim their bow and arrow at tumor necrosis factor-alpha, which plays a role in the inflammatory cascade known to cause psoriasis. The newest crop of biologics, however, gets even more specific in their aim, making them that much more effective and safe. They are even effective if someone has tried and failed or stopped responding to older biologics.
Bruce Strober, MD, chair of dermatology at UConn Health and professor of dermatology at UConn School of Medicine, with offices in Farmington and Canton, Conn. agrees. “The most exciting new treatments for psoriasis lately are Tremfya, Cosentyx, Siliq, and Taltz as they clear most patients who receive them and have very few side effects, and no need for blood test monitoring (except for a pre-treatment test for tuberculosis),” he says. Biologics do confer their share of risks namely infections because they work by suppressing your immune system. This new crop is thought to be more “skin-specific” which means there is less broad immunosuppression and thus a lower risk for infections.
Find out the best skin care routine for psoriasis from top dermatologists.
Combo dream creams (or foams)
There is no cure for psoriasis, that said, there are some new combinations of topical steroids and vitamin D that pack a one-two punch against the inflammation and scaling of psoriasis and are helping people with moderate psoriasis get and stay clear. Taclonex ointment is a once-daily medication for psoriasis that is used for up to eight weeks to treat (and delete) scalp and body plaque psoriasis. (This is also the only FDA-approved treatment for teens with scalp psoriasis, and the once-a-day regimen means teens are more likely to use the ointment as directed.) It also comes as a foam and goes by the name of Enstilar®. The foam formulation may allow people to use it on larger body areas.
Find out the 10 things dermatologists wish you knew about scalp psoriasis.
Weight loss
Is this a newfangled psoriasis treatment? Not exactly, but a growing body of evidence suggesting that psoriasis is more than skin deep has made weight loss a key part of therapy. Psoriasis can increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes so doing everything to lower these risks is essential, Dr. Farber says. “Losing weight is key as is regular exercise, which can be difficult if people also have psoriatic arthritis,” he says. And weight loss works wonders. Danish researchers found that obese people with psoriasis who lost 10 to 15 percent of their excess weight saw lasting improvements in their symptoms, as reported in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
