This guide can help you understand how different treatments address these connected diseases, and what treatments might be worth discussing with your doctor.
Oral treatments (pills)
These are standard pills taken by mouth that work throughout the entire body to lower inflammation. Some conventional options can help with skin or joints. Newer targeted oral options are also available to help manage skin or joint symptoms, though they operate differently than targeted injectables.
Topical treatments (creams and gels)
Psoriasis (PsO) creams or gels are medications applied directly to your skin to treat local inflammation, slow rapid skin cell growth, or soothe itching. For mild to moderate PsO, topicals do not treat joint pain from psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or gut inflammation associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) because they do not work throughout the entire body.
Phototherapy (light therapy)
Light therapy for psoriasis is a treatment that uses controlled amounts of medical ultraviolet (UV) light under clinical supervision to slow skin cell growth.
Biologic treatments (injection or infusion)
For patients experiencing moderate to severe PsO, active PsA, or IBD, doctors frequently recommend biologic therapies. Biologics treat inflammation under the skin throughout the entire body, rather than just skin surface symptoms.
What you should know about biologics
- Working under the skin: Biologics are designed to block the specific, overactive proteins (called cytokines) driving your inflammation.
- Joint preservation: Some biologics may even help stop joint damage from PsA.
- Dosing: Biologics are given as injections under the skin or through an intravenous (IV) infusion. By working continuously in your body, they are only taken periodically, often once every few weeks or even months.
Understanding your biologic options
Different biologics target different inflammatory pathways. You and your doctor will discuss which of these types of biologics may be appropriate for you:
- IL-23 inhibitors: These treatments inhibit interleukin-23 (IL-23), a protein involved in skin, joint, and gut inflammation. They are approved by the FDA for the treatment of plaque PsO, active PsA, or IBD (such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis). Maintenance doses may be required as infrequently as once every 4 to 12 weeks.
- IL-17 inhibitors: These treatments inhibit interleukin-17 (IL-17), a protein involved in skin and joint inflammation. They are approved by the FDA for the treatment of plaque PsO or active PsA.
- TNF inhibitors: These are established biologics that target an inflammatory protein called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). They are approved to treat skin (PsO) or joints (PsA) or gut (IBD) symptoms, making them an option for patients.
