Consistent control of psoriasis by continuous long-term therapy: the promise of biological treatments

Psoriasis is a chronic, incurable disease that frequently requires long-term treatment. Although many patients benefit from effective traditional systemic therapies, namely methotrexate, cyclosporin, retinoids and fumaric acid esters, and some patients achieve long-term disease control, unrestricted long-term administration is not recommended due to the potential for cumulative toxicity. In order to diminish the risk of toxicity, physicians have adopted various treatment approaches (e.g. rotational, sequential, intermittent, and combination). However, these approaches may not provide continuous disease control or a stable treatment regimen. The recent advent of targeted biological therapeutics such as etanercept, infliximab, adalimumab, alefacept and efalizumab may offer physicians and their patients treatment options with improved safety profiles that may permit continuous disease control.