A new study published in JAMA Dermatology suggests that a once-daily foam treatment may offer significant relief for people with plaque psoriasis, particularly on the scalp—a notoriously difficult area to treat.
The clinical trial evaluated the effectiveness of roflumilast foam 0.3%, a topical medication designed to address chronic inflammatory skin conditions. Unlike traditional creams and ointments, the foam formulation is easier to apply to hair-covered areas like the scalp and offers a more cosmetically acceptable alternative for many patients.
Plaque psoriasis, the most common form of the disease, affects nearly half of all psoriasis patients. When it appears on the scalp, it can lead to relentless itching and discomfort, often impacting quality of life regardless of disease severity. Hair complicates treatment, making it harder for medications to reach the affected skin.
Traditional topical treatments often fall short—many aren’t well-tolerated or suitable for hairy areas, and patient adherence tends to be low. That has spurred the development of more user-friendly alternatives like foams, though data on their effectiveness has remained limited.
To address that gap, researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial across the U.S. and Canada involving 432 patients aged 12 and older with both scalp and body lesions. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either the roflumilast foam or a placebo, applied once daily over eight weeks.
Researchers evaluated treatment success using standard clinical assessment tools, rating the appearance of lesions on a scale from 0 (clear) to 4 (severe). The primary goal was to see how many patients achieved scores of 0 or 1 by week eight, indicating clear or almost-clear skin.
The results were notable: 66.4% of patients in the treatment group saw significant improvement in scalp lesions, compared to just 27.8% in the placebo group. 45.5% of treated patients on the body achieved near-complete clearance, versus 20.1% in the control group.
The foam also helped reduce itching—65.3% of roflumilast patients reported a drop of four or more points on the Scalp Itch Numeric Rating Scale, a measure of itch severity. That’s more than double the 30.3% improvement reported in the placebo group.
While adverse events were slightly more common among foam users (26.7% vs. 16.6%), serious side effects were rare and occurred at similar rates in both groups.
The researchers concluded that roflumilast foam 0.3% is a well-tolerated, once-daily option that offers effective symptom relief for patients with plaque psoriasis on both the scalp and body.
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