Topical tacrolimus showed promising efficacy and safety in treating patients with mild-to-moderate scalp psoriasis, according to a recent study published by Pinter et al in Dermatology and Therapy. In a phase III study, researchers assigned 128 patients to either apply topical 0.1% tacrolimus microemulsion or placebo twice daily. After a follow-up of 8 weeks, 28.6% of the patients who used the topical 0.1% tacrolimus microemulsion vs 12.7% of the patients who received placebo had scalp Investigator Global Assessment scores of 0 or 1—indicating absent and very mild disease, respectively. Further, more patients in the tacrolimus group achieved improvements in their Dermatology Life Quality Index compared with those in the placebo group; however, there were no statistically significant differences in this measure after 8 weeks. The researchers reported no cutaneous side effects with tacrolimus other than those already identified. They wrote, “From a clinical perspective, the application of a tacrolimus-containing microemulsion not only offers optimized cutaneous bioavailability in the scalp area compared to conventional formulations but has also keratoemulsifying effects that significantly improve the diffusion conditions of the drug.”