Highlighting Recent Topical Options for Psoriasis, with Linda Stein Gold, MD

Many clinicians in the field of dermatology have noted that recent years have seen huge growth in the number of options available for psoriasis, including a variety of topical options.

However, many clinicians will still resort to topical steroids over other non-steroidal alternatives. In this interview at the Dermatology Education Foundation (DERM) 2025 NP/PA CME Conference, Linda Stein Gold, MD, of the Henry Ford Health System, spoke with HCPLive about her talk on the subject of topicals for psoriasis.1

“We've really learned a lot about topical therapy, and when we think about psoriasis, topical corticosteroids have been the go-to,” Stein Gold explained. “We use really potent topical steroids like clobetasol for flares. We use maybe triamcinolone cream for maintenance therapy. We use desonide or hydrocortisone for sensitive areas. And when you think about all the prescriptions that we're writing, and maybe we're using some of the traditional non-steroidals, the patients end up with all these prescriptions. They are almost incapacitated by fear, because there are so many things to do. They forget what they're supposed to do. So in the end, they end up using their clobetosol indefinitely.”

Stein Gold highlighted that potent topical steroids are not the solution to the treatment of psoriasis. She described them as a short-term answer to a long-term solution.

“We have some non-steroidal options, and we're really excited about the new ones that we have,” Stein Gold said. “They've been around for a little while now. Tapinarof, which is an oral hydrocarbon receptor agonist that works inside the cell, has been shown to work even as monotherapy. Not only to get the disease under control, but to keep it under control. The good news with these non-steroidals is that you can use them on the face, you can use them on the hands. You can use them on thick areas.”

Stein Gold noted that if such patients are treated until clear, they can have a durable remission that can last 4 months or longer in such patients.

“We also have topical roflumilast, which is a phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitor,” Stein Gold explained. “And we've seen PDE4 inhibitors in the past. But this one's different. It's very potent. It's a topical that can also be used as monotherapy, again, to get patients under control and keep them under control. We [also] have a foam formulation that was recently FDA-approved.”

For any additional information on Stein Gold’s talk, view her full interview segment posted above. To find out more about clinical pearls highlighted at the meeting, view our latest conference coverage.

The quotes used in this interview summary were edited for clarity.

Stein Gold has previously reported personal fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Arctis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dermavant, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB.

References

1. Stein Gold L. Psoriasis Topicals: Totally Tubular. Presented at DERM 2025 NP PA CME Conference; July 23-26, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada.