Research progress on small molecule drugs for treatment of psoriasis

Psoriasis is a complex and recurrent inflammatory skin disease, its pathogenesis is not entirely clear and the treatment is very difficult, seriously affecting the patient's life and work, which brings some difficulties for research and screening of new drug. Nevertheless, anti-psoriasis drug has been a hot research point of dermatology therapeutics. In the search for new anti-psoriasis drugs, the international researchers have been doing unremitting efforts. The new drug candidates intended for the treatment for psoriasis emerged, aiming to improve the efficacy and reduce the toxicity. At present, there are many targets for the treatment of psoriasis, mainly focusing on the nuclear hormone receptor ligands, cytokines, and enzymes related in immune signal transduction pathway and the natural medicinal herbs acting on the epidermis. This review summarizes the mechanisms of established therapies with emphasis on small molecule drugs with good effects, and provides research ideas for the development of anti-psoriasis new drugs.