Drug delivery and formulations for the topical treatment of psoriasis.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is one of the most common human skin diseases. It is characterised by excessive growth and aberrant differentiation of corneocytes, but is fully reversible with appropriate therapy. OBJECTIVE: There are many drug therapies for psoriasis via the topical delivery route. This review describes the topically applied drugs used to treat psoriasis. METHODS: Formulations to carry or encapsulate these drugs are introduced in this review. Enhancing approaches such as liposome inclusion, iontophoresis and laser are also discussed. CONCLUSION: This review summarises developments in the design of formulations in the area of topical drug delivery for treating psoriasis.