Because we do not yet have effective gene therapy, we do not have a permanent cure for psoriasis, but we have many excellent treatments. For patients with limited disease, topical therapy is often enough. When topical therapy isn't adequate, intralesional injections of steroids can be administered to isolated plaques of psoriasis or the excimer laser can be used.
For more extensive disease, ultraviolet light phototherapy with either broadband UVB, narrowband UVB, or PUVA can be effective. Oral medications for psoriasis include Acitretin (Soriatane®), methotrexate, cyclosporine, apremilast (Otezla®), and other therapies that are either in development or off-label such as tofacitinib (Xeljanz®).
There are now numerous injectable therapies (known as biologics) administered either at home or in the office for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel), golimumab (Simponi), Infliximab (Remicade), ustekinumab (Stelara), and secukinumab (Cosentyx) are currently available. Several new injectable drugs are in development including ixekizumab, brodalumab, tildrakizumab, and guselkumab.
