Introduction to women's health therapeutics in dermatology: Special edition of the International Journal of Women's Dermatology

Women’s health in dermatology covers a vast array of topics that range from issues surrounding management of skin disease during pregnancy and lactation, available hormonal therapies for conditions such as acne and alopecia, hormonally driven conditions that are linked to dermatologic skin diseases such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, gynecologic concerns such as vulvar skin disease, and dermatologic care of transgender patients. Pregnancy is a time of uncertainty. Female patients who are pregnant have an added burden when weighing not only the risks and benefits of a therapy or the pregnancy itself to her own medical health but also consider the risks to her unborn child. A quintessential example of this is the controversy that surrounds themanagement of melanoma in a pregnant patient. Another example are those patients who suffer from widespread, debilitating psoriasis during the course of pregnancy. It is critical when caring for these patients to have access to themost updated information on the safety of new biologic agents that are now widely utilized for the treatment of patients with psoriasis. As the number ofwomenwhohave children later in life continues to increase steadily, so do concerns with regard to the safety of