Apremilast in the therapy of moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis

Chronic plaque psoriasis presents clinically as an inflammatory disease of the skin, which is often associated with comorbidities and responsible for a poor quality of life. It can widely vary among patients because of different age of onset, type of symptoms, areas of involvement, and disease severity. The choice of the treatment of psoriasis should be personalized according to the specific needs of the patients. Apremilast is a well-tolerated and effective phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitor that is indicated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. In this article, the pharmacological, clinical, and safety aspects of apremilast are reviewed. Based on these data, apremilast could be indicated for patients with a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score <10 but with a significant impact on quality of life and seems to be an appropriate treatment for elderly patients also.