Anti-psoriasis agents

Oatmeal baths. Regular use of oatmeal baths in tepid water may help soothe the itching associated with psoriasis and reduce the need for systemic anti-pruritic agents. 

Kikwai L, Babu ly, Kanikkannan N, and Singh M. Preformulation Stability of Spantide 11, a Promising Topical Anti-inflammatory Agent for the Treatment of Psoriasis and Contact Dermatitis. J Pharm Pharmacol 2004 56 19-25. 

Sulfasalazine, commonly used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis, is selectively used as an alternative treatment, particularly in patients with concurrent psoriatic arthritis. Sulfasalazine is an anti-inflammatory agent that inhibits 5-lipoxygenase. When used as a single agent in the treatment of psoriasis, it is not as effective as is therapy with methotrexate, PUVA, or acitretin. One possible advantage of sulfasalazine therapy compared with other systemic treatments is its relatively high margin of safety. The usual dose of oral sulfasalazine is 3 to 4 g/day for 8 weeks. ... 

Synonyms aminomercuric chloride mercuric ammonium chloride mercury ammonium chloride mercury amide chloride Uses inorganic mercurial compound used in creams as a topical anti-infective agent (formerly used in the treatment of psoriasis and in skin-lightening formulations)... 

Several small uncontrolled pilot studies have indicated that most patients with psoriatic arthritis improve when treated with etretinate at 0.5-1 mg/kg/day (Brackertz and Muller, 1979 Rosenthal 1979 Stollenwerk et al., 1981 Kaplan etal., 1983). In one report the etretinate-induced improvement allowed patients to decrease or discontinue their use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. In another report patients with chronic polyarthritis similarly improved. RePUVA also led to improvement in five of six patients with psoriatic arthritis. However, because healing of cutaneous lesions of psoriasis with PUVA is associated with an improvement in joint disease, controlled studies are needed to confirm that etretinate is effective in psoriatic arthritis and that the effect is not secondary to cutaneous improvement. 

Guerra I, Algaba A, Perez-Calle JL, Chaparro M, Marin-Jimenez I, Garda-CasteUanos R, et al. ViUa fruela M, Romero-Mate A, Lopez-Serrano P, Gisbert JP, Bermejo F. Induction of psoriasis with anti-TNF agents in patients with inflammatory bowel disease a report of 21 cases. J Crohns Colitis 2012 6(5) 518-23. 

Its topical use lies mainly in the treatment of psoriasis, as a keratolytic agent to descale plaques (1-20% ointment). Salicylism is the term used to describe the toxicological state that occurs following percutaneous absorption of salicylic acid (Von Weis and Lever 1964). Intoxication depends largely on the total body area over which the salicylic acid is applied (Brubacher and Hoffman 1996). Formerly, salicylic acid also had a reputation as an anti-mycotic (3% in Whitfield ointment). Contact allergy was reported (Goh and Ng 1986). 

SM, commonly known as mustard gas , was one of the first chemicals used in modern warfare. Since its use on the battlefield of Ypres in 1917 it has been used for little else but to wage war. In civil use it found brief employment as an anticancer agent during the 1960s, and has been used at low concentrations in creams used to treat psoriasis, but its association with the production of cancer terminated its use in medicine. With the formation of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to enforce the international Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), SM is only likely to be encountered in dealings with non-compliant nations, anti-terrorist operations, during demilitarisation operations or in defence research. 

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