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Current and Emerging Therapies for Itch Management in Psoriasis

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Abstract

Pruritus is a common and significant symptom among patients with psoriasis. Pruritus is often present beyond the borders of psoriatic plaques, and frequently affects the scalp and genital regions. Psoriatic itch may be severe and can profoundly affect quality of life and sleep, even in the context of mild-to-moderate disease. These features often make the treatment of psoriatic pruritus challenging. However, there are a variety of effective topical and systemic treatment modalities available to address this symptom. While there remains a need for treatments that specifically target psoriatic itch, newly licensed therapies including secukinumab, ixekizumab and apremilast have been shown to rapidly and effectively mediate itch reduction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology and Itch Center, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, 3322 North Broad Street, Medical Office Building, Suite 212, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA

    Carolyn Stull, Shoshana Grossman & Gil Yosipovitch

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  1. Carolyn Stull
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  2. Shoshana Grossman
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  3. Gil Yosipovitch
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Correspondence to Gil Yosipovitch.

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Carolyn Stull and Shoshana Grossman declare no conflicts of interest. Gil Yosipovitch is a member of scientific advisory boards for TREVI, Creabilis, Chugai, Pfizer, Anacor, Celgene, Eli Lily, and Johnson & Johnson. He is an investigator and receives grant support from Hoffman-LaRoche, Trevi, Tioga, Pfizer, GSK-Stiefel, Allergan and the LEO Foundation.

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Stull, C., Grossman, S. & Yosipovitch, G. Current and Emerging Therapies for Itch Management in Psoriasis. Am J Clin Dermatol 17, 617–624 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40257-016-0213-5

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