Use of hydroxyurea in psoriasis

Hydroxyurea is an effective treatment in chronic plaque psoriasis that is r elatively simple to prescribe, Dose-related bone marrow toxicity is the pri ncipal side-effect of therapy although clinically significant complications are few provided that blood counts are monitored carefully In contrast wit h many other second-line agents, renal and liver disease do not necessarily preclude treatment, and there are few drug interactions likely to be of cl inical relevance in dermatology. Recent studies on the use of hydroxyurea f or sickle cell disease may provide more information on predicting the maxim al tolerated dose and potential hazards of long-term therapy in nonmalignan t disease and perhaps revive interest in the drug's use in dermatology.