Lasers safely target areas of limited psoriatic lesions

Washington - Lasers can offer a safe and effective alternative for the treatment of chronic, stable plaque psoriasis in patients whose disease is mild-to-moderate in severity and involves 10 to 20 percent of the body surface area, said Christine C. Dierickx, M.D., at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology here. Dr. Dierickx, director, Boom Laser Clinic, Boom, Belgium, and visiting scientist, Harvard Medical School, Boston, described the roles of lesion-directed, high intensity UVB phototherapy using various lasers and light sources as well as pulsed dye laser treatment that clears psoriatic plaques by targeting the microvasculature.