Systemic Psoriasis Treatments

People whose psoriasis cannot be controlled by topical medications applied directly to affected areas of the skin may turn to systemic, or internally administered, drugs, to ultraviolet light treatments, to biologic therapies, or to some combination of them. In the United States, the three most common systemic medications for psoriasis are cyclosporine, methotrexate, and acitretin (Soriatane). Each can be very effective, but each can also cause serious side effects. Therefore, patients must decide together with their doctors whether to take a systemic medication and which one to choose based on careful consideration of factors including psoriasis severity, overall health, and lifestyle.

For women who may seek to become pregnant, the choice is even more limited, and the prospect of a future pregnancy should be discussed with your physician when you evaluate treatment options.

Click on these links to learn more about:

Cyclosporine (one popular brand is called Neoral)

Methotrexate

Acitretin (the brand name is Soriatane)

Systemic treatments get less media attention than newer psoriasis treatments, but they continue to serve patients, despite their shortcomings. One reason may be physician habit: they have prescribed these treatments for years, and might feel they understand the risks and benefits from past prescribing experience. Another issue may be cost. Methotrexate and cyclosporine can typically be used, even for a patient without health insurance, for less than most Americans’ monthly cable TV bill. A third issue may be method of delivery: these are pills. Everyone understands how to take pills, the only complication being that methotrexate has weekly, rather than daily, dosing.

But these treatments don’t work for everyone and some patients find the side-effects unacceptable. Click the links above to learn more and see if one of these treatments might be right for you.