Drugs you can't have Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand - Nov 30, 2008 New and expensive, Myozyme is the only treatment available and without it sufferers are doomed to death or severe disablement. ...
Indigo plant may provide new treatment for psoriasis Radio Taiwan International, Taiwan - Nov 18, 2008 Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease for which there is no known cure. Sufferers experience red scaly patches often occurring on the arms and legs. ...
New gel to treat scalp psoriasis Nursing in Practice, UK - Nov 10, 2008 "An effective new treatment will be welcomed by sufferers of this uncomfortable and often embarrassing scalp condition."
Xamiol gel provides relief for scalp psoriasis News-Medical.net, Australia - Nov 11, 2008 An effective new treatment will be welcomed by sufferers of this uncomfortable and often embarrassing scalp condition." Psoriasis affects 1.2 million people ...
My war against roses Globe and Mail, Canada - Nov 24, 2008 They were not roses, but it took years before I learned the proper diagnosis - psoriasis. And with that fateful verdict, a lifelong love/hate battle between ...
Dry skin gets the indigo treatment ABC Science Online, Australia - Nov 19, 2008 A dose of the blues may help persistent sufferers of psoriasis, according to a team of Taiwanese researchers. In the latest issue of Archives of Dermatology ...
Be happy and you'll glow New Straits Times, Malaysia - Nov 16, 2008 ... such as psoriasis and eczema, there are long-time sufferers of these conditions who report that when they are stressed, their conditions become worse. ...
'Doctor fish' clear skin disease BBC News, UK - Nov 21, 2008 A woman with the skin condition psoriasis has travelled to Turkey to sit in water and be nibbled by flesh-eating fish in a bid to find a cure. ...
Ways To Great Skin This Winter The Epoch Times, NY - Nov 27, 2008 Sufferers of eczema and psoriasis find this time of year the worst for skin flare-ups. Extremes are very damaging for your skin. ...
Ayurvedic remedy for arthritis? Deccan Herald, India - Nov 21, 2008 Yet another kind of arthritis is 'Psoriatic Arthritis'. Psoriatic arthritis is associated with the skin disease psoriasis and commonly affects joints of the ...
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Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: psoriasis new + psoriasis + new Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)
August is Psoriasis Awareness Month MarketWatch - Psoriasis is a noncontagious, chronic disease of the immune system that appears on the skin, causing red, scaly patches. Many of the estimated 7.5 million ...
Manhattan Falls Short on Phase II Trial for Psoriasis FDA news (subscription), VA - Manhattan Pharmaceuticals? Phase IIa clinical study of topical PTH (1-34) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis failed to improve patients? ...OTC:MHAN
Unrecognized Potential at Abbott Labs Kiplinger.com, DC - The FDA recently approved a sixth use for the drug, which doctors can now prescribe for ailments from rheumatoid arthritis to psoriasis. ...ABT
Booming chemical company plans expansion into Verona Verona Press, WI - ... in everything from treating psoriasis to prostate cancer and bone-building deficiencies in patients with kidney diseases. Pending city approval, the new...
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Severe psoriasis--oral therapy with a new retinoid. T Fredriksson, U Pettersson - Dermatologica, 1978 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ... The clinical efficacy was evaluated by means of a new index, psoriasis area and
severity index (PASI) based on severity and area of psoriatic lesions. ...
Tacrolimus (FK 506)--a new therapeutic agent for severe recalcitrant psoriasis - BV Jegasothy, CD Ackerman, S Todo, JJ Fung, K Abu- … - Archives of Dermatology, 1992 - Am Med Assoc ... We report the results from our study of seven patients with refractory psoriasis
who were treated with the new immunosuppressive drug, tacrolimus (FK 506). ...
A new development in UVB phototherapy of psoriasis - H WEELDEN, H BAART DE LA FAILLE, E YOUNG, JC LEUN - British Journal of Dermatology, 1988 - Blackwell Synergy ... lamps are needed in the light cabinet. However, the new lamps appear to provide
more effective and safer phototherapy for psoriasis. ...
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Psoriasis sufferers get new options
From skin creams to coal tar to sun lamps, Karen Martino tried most of the traditional remedies for psoriasis — with little luck.
The young schoolteacher went to one doctor after another.
"They ran out of ideas," she said. "Then they started talking about this new drug, and it was an eye-opener."
Martino's experience is typical, says Gail Zimmerman, president of the National Psoriasis Foundation. Her group has started reaching out to patients with the tag line "Now is the time to try again."
Which is just what Martino, 24, is doing. Recently, she started one of the most popular new options, Enbrel, a "biologic drug" that quiets the immune system. It's too soon to know if it will work.
"I have a friend in remission," she says, noting that studies indicate the medicine works in at least 50 percent of cases.
What is psoriasis? Psoriasis is a noncontagious, chronic skin disease with varying levels of severity. Some people also get a form of arthritis, psoriatic arthritis.
Appearance: Patches of raised red skin covered by a flaky white buildup; can have a pimple-ish (pustular psoriasis) or burned (erythrodermic) look. Can cause intense itching and burning. May be in patches or cover entire limbs. Triggers: Emotional stress, injury to the skin, some types of infection, certain drugs. Treatments: "Biologic drugs" alter faulty immune response blamed for the disease. Medicated skin creams and light therapy can control excess skin production, inflammation.
Source: National Psoriasis Foundation
Several similar products also work well, such as the drug Raptiva, says Eric Treiber, a Rye, N.Y., dermatologist. Still, he prescribes the new drugs with caution.
"They are miraculous drugs," he says, "but the side effects aren't yet fully understood, and the cost is enormous."
The drugs, which can cost about $15,000 a year, are given by self-injection only, which may put off some patients. And they increase risk of infection, since they weaken the immune system.
Doctors often recommend newer and less-invasive options first, such as narrow-band ultraviolet light B treatments, during which a patient stands for just a few minutes in a machine that looks like a tanning bed but has specialized bulbs. The UVB light slows the production of skin.
For people with just a few patches of psoriasis, doctors can also use special lasers.
These options usually work, but not all dermatologists have the "light box" machines or new lasers, and not all patients can make the required weekly visits, Treiber says.
Each person with psoriasis faces different struggles, says Marc Grossman, a clinical dermatologist and a professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.
For example, a patient who can't afford Enbrel can take Methotrexate, which treats psoriasis but can cause liver damage.
But that doesn't mean Grossman won't prescribe it. "If we rotate treatments for a period of time, the patient gets the maximum benefits with a minimum of side effects."
Martino is learning new ways of coping with the disease, which looks like a sunburn on her cheeks. Stress is a big trigger.
"I'm a worrier," says Martino, who sees a therapist. "But I'm learning breathing techniques and other ways to calm the body down and lower the heart rate. That part has really helped."
