There is a promising treatment for patients suffering from psoriasis.
Around 2% of the population suffers from psoriasis. About a third of the cases are considered moderate to severe. And, until now, treatment options have been limited, especially for those with cases that are more than just mild.
“It’s itchy and flaky and when you wake up in the morning there are all flakes of skin that is in the bed and everything and it is difficult to live with.” Glen Weissman has had severe psoriasis for twenty years. From taking PUVA, baths and using ultra violet light and doing different IV injections, therapies and different pills, you name I’ve done it and nothing worked
Dr. Jeffrey Weinberg, a dermatologist at Beth Israel Medical Center, says, “People who are covered with psoriasis may have pain, they may have discomfort, they may have itching it can certainly really decrease quality of life.”
But now, there is a new treatment that can change that course to a much more positive one. It’s called remicade--a drug used for other immune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.
Psoriasis is a chronic condition which results when skin cells over-produce and accumulate on the surface of the skin, producing red, scaly 'plaques' which may itch and bleed.
The reason: an abnormal inflammatory response in the skin.
The reason for that is an excess of the protein TNF-alpha, which normally stimulates white blood cells to fight infections and other invaders.
With psoriasis, that excess TNF-alpha causes too many white blood cells to cause too much inflammation. Remicade, a TNF-alpha inhibitor, blocks the action of TNF-alpha in the skin. That means the white cells don’t come in to the skin, and so, there is reduced inflammation, leading to fewer psoriasis symptoms.
Now, a new study, published in The Lancet looked at whether remicade can help clear the skin of psoriasis victims. It shows that the vast majority of the trial subjects treated with remicade did great; nearly two-thirds experienced at least a 90% improvement in symptoms - or near-complete skin clearance - after ten weeks, versus 1% receiving the placebo.
26% of the patients achieved complete skin clearance –none of those getting placebo did—and improvements continued over the course of the 50 week study.
Patients receiving remicade also experienced a good response in nail psoriasis, which is present in 20 - 50% of psoriasis patients and is often considered a condition that is resistant to treatment.
“I think remicade is certainly a major step forward and in certain cases this drug can really change people’s lives,” says Dr. Weinberg.
Glen was started on the remicade three weeks ago, and his skin nearly cleared up completely. “There is nothing like having clear skin. People take it for granted just to take your shirt off at the pool or the beach,” he says.