New developments in the treatment of psoriasis.

During the previous 10 years, important innovations have been developed in the treatment of psoriasis. Calcipotriol has been introduced in most countries already 10 years ago and more recently 2 other vitamin D(3) analogues have become available: calcitriol and tacalitol. In some countries, the topical retinoid tazarotene has been registered as a routine treatment in psoriasis. Evidence-based data on the efficacy and safety of combination treatments are accumulating. In particular, the combination of calcipotriol and topical corticosteroids has been shown to be very effective and safe. The combination of systemic treatments is controversial. In individual patients, the risk of combining major therapies should be balanced against the need to enhance efficacy in individuals. New leads in experimental treatments are new vitamin D(3) analogues and new retinoids as well as 4-hydroxylase- and 24-hydroxylase inhibitors. Important innovations in immunomodulatory treatments are: tacrolimus, ascomycine, anti-CD4, anti-CD25, peptide T and LFA3TIP. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel