Management of cutaneous rosacea: emphasis on new medical therapies

Over the past decade, both basic science and clinical research have provided new information on pathophysiology and therapy that has led to advances in the management of rosacea. As rosacea is a very common facial skin disorder in adults of both genders and essentially all races and ethnicities, these advances can provide therapeutic benefit to many affected individuals around the world.

This article provides a collective review of more recent information on the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of rosacea, and discusses individual medical therapies based on PubMed literature searches on 'rosacea', 'rosacea therapies' and each therapy that are included in this article. The perspectives of the author on management of rosacea are also included. Newer therapies and treatment concepts received greater emphasis.

Management of cutaneous rosacea involves patient education, integration of proper skin care, differentiation of visible manifestations and symptoms, selecting therapies that correlate with the manifestations that are to be treated, setting realistic patient expectations on anticipated degree and time course of response and designing an overall management plan that addresses needs of the individual patient. In many cases, a combination approach is needed, and due to the chronicity of the disease long-term management is often warranted.