Old wine in new bottles: the revival of anthralin

Anthralin has been a consistently effective drug for the treatment of psoriasis for more than 80 years, but has not enjoyed common use in the United States because of the unwanted side effects of irritation and staining. New treatment methods such as short-contact therapy and innovative vehicle formulations minimizing these problems have allowed anthralin once again to be used effectively in psoriatic treatment programs. We review these newer adaptations and suggest that the enduring modality deserves an important place in the topical armamentarium.