Current trends in the treatment of psoriasis

New treatment modalities are now available in the management of psoriasis. We report our local studies on these new modalities. Application of dithranol for 1/2 hour is just as effective as when applied for 24 hours. This means less staining of the skin, clothes and no more burns. Oral retinoids gave more than 70% improvement in six of the seven patients with recalcitrant psoriasis. Oral retinoids produced more than 75% improvement in all eight patients with pustular psoriasis. PUVA therapy gave a complete clearance rate of 77% with an average of 25 sessions of treatment and an average total UVA dose of 346 J/cm2. However REPUVA (retinoids and PUVA) produced a complete clearance rate of 73% with an average of 18 sessions of treatment and an average total UVA dose of 142 J/cm2. The newer forms of treatment together with the established therapies have tremendously improved the total management of patients with psoriasis.