A step toward revamping MD pharmacology curriculum by National Medical Commission: An envisioned transition from bench-side training to bedside training

With a vision to meet the changing trends and recent developments in the field of pharmacology and therapeutics, the postgraduate medical education board of the national medical commission has put forth amendments to the existing guidelines for the MD pharmacology course. Major changes include introducing a district residency-based program for 3 months apart from the clinical postings and more focus is given to the areas of rational prescribing, pharmacovigilance, and ethical aspects of research. These amendments come as a new ray of hope in developing the postgraduate student as a complete professional equipped to meet the increasing standards in the workplace be it a hospital or a research arena. Including the simulation-based approaches for training as a lesson learned from the pandemic and adopting patient-oriented learning during the course are some of the key changes in the new guidelines. This review focuses on highlighting these amendments and correlating the same with the current scenario and discusses the future areas that can be improved for comprehensive development in the pharmacology curriculum.

Tapinarof: A Felicitous Discovery in Psoriasis Treatment

Tapinarof is a novel topical formulation approved recently, in May 2022, by the United States Food and Drug Administration to treat plaque psoriasis. Existing topical therapies for psoriasis are limited by systemic and local adverse effects, medication cost and repeated administration, thus significantly hampering the compliance of patients to therapy. These limitations can be resolved by tapinarof owing to its better efficacy and favourable safety profile in psoriasis management. Tapinarof was developed with a unique mechanism targeting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) involved in inflammation and modulation of skin barrier integrity in inflammatory dermatological disorders such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. The efficacy and safety outcomes of tapinarof in psoriasis were justified through the two pivotal clinical trials, namely, PSOARING 1 and PSOARING 2. The common adverse effects observed with tapinarof are folliculitis, contact dermatitis and headache. The literature search was conducted for efficacy and safety of tapinarof in the electronic databases of PubMed and Cochrane using a combination of keywords such as tapinarof, psoriasis and AhR. This review will delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying the action of tapinarof and also summarise the trial data supporting the claim that tapinarof is replacing the existing standard of care in psoriasis management.