Management of scalp psoriasis: current perspectives

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition. The age of onset, chronicity, physical, and psychosocial consequences of the disease cause psoriasis to have a significant impact on patient quality of life. Scalp psoriasis is no different, and effective treatment results in an improvement in quality of life. Successful management of scalp psoriasis includes topical therapies that are acceptable to the patient for mild-to-moderate disease, and systemic therapies for recalcitrant or moderate-to-severe disease. The most effective topical therapies are corticosteroid products, or combination products with calcipotriol and corticosteroid. Newer vehicle options provide more attractive and pleasing products for patients and may improve adherence. The current perspectives for management of scalp psoriasis are discussed including available data for systemic therapy of severe disease.

Keywords:

• psoriasis
• scalp psoriasis
• topical therapies
• systemic therapies
• biologics

Disclosure

Dr Melinda Gooderham is an investigator, advisory board member, speaker for AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Galderma, Janssen, Leo Pharma Inc., Novartis, and Pfizer. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to disclose.