Jeffrey Cohen, MD: Effects of Different Therapies on Psoriasis Comorbidities

In a new interview with HCPLive, Jeffrey Cohen, MD, spoke about the latest information on psoriasis therapies, which he presented at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 2023 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

Cohen is known for his work at the Yale School of Medicine as both an assistant professor of dermatology and director of the Psoriasis Treatment Program.

He explained that there are many factors that go into deciding how a clinician should treat a patient who has psoriasis.

“The first big branch point is are you going to treat them with topical medications like topical steroids or some of the newer topical medications that we have,” he said. “Or these individuals who need more of a systemic approach to treatment, and that could include oral medication, some of which have been around for decades.”

Cohen noted that patient preferences are important, adding that patients with higher body surface area and more extensive disease are likely going to do well with systemic treatment as opposed to topical therapies.

“Do they have certain comorbidities that would argue for one treatment versus another?” he said. “For example, patients who have concomitant psoriatic arthritis and, you know, up to 30 to 40% of patients with psoriasis are going to also have psoriatic arthritis. Those individuals tend to do the best with some of the injectable biologics that are really good for both joint and skin disease.”

Cohen mentioned several other comorbidities as part of his overall discussion on psoriasis therapies and choosing the right ones for patients.

“Other comorbidities may help us understand whether one type of medication is better than another,” he said. “For example, patients who have concomitant congestive heart failure, we avoid TNF alpha inhibition. Those who have concomitant inflammatory bowel disease, we avoid il 17 inhibition.”

To learn more about Cohen’s presentation from the conference, view the full interview segment above.