Jerry Bagel: Determining Best Treatments for Psoriasis Patients

The process for treatment of plaque psoriasis can be a very involved process depending on their history with the condition and other issues they may have as well. This can include psoriatic arthritis.

Jerry Bagel, MD, of the Psoriasis Treatment Center of Central New Jersey, said that phototherapy works well for psoriasis, but it requires 12 weeks of treatment. Also, it doesn’t help if the patient has psoriasis of the scalp, or other places such as the groin where light treatments might not work as well. In those cases, a biologic treatment might be the next option. Adverse events, depending on the treatment, could include Bell’s Palsy. Or for example if someone has hepatitis C or Crohn’s disease, you could opt for another avenue of treatment. “You need to clearly know the adverse event profile of the individual,” Bagel said, as well as their susceptibility to infection.