[New aspects of the treatment of psoriasis]

Psoriasis is an inflammatory condition of the skin which affects about 2% of the population. Several new treatment modalities have been introduced in recent years. This review considers the mode of action of various forms of treatment, side effects and therapeutic results that have been observed. Etretinate is a synthetic vitamin A analogue. It works alone, or even better in combination with psoralen plus ultraviolet light A (PUVA) or ultraviolet light B (UVB). Cyclosporin is still on trial, but seems to be effective in small doses and can be considered as an alternative in cases of psoriasis that are resistant to other therapies. The interest in dietary measures for psoriasis has been revived after some studies have suggested that dietary supplements of fish oil, a low-fat diet, can improve the condition. Now that n-3-fatty acids are available in capsule form it should be possible to prescribe a diet that is rich enough in fish oils.