Monday, January 30, 2006
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a condition whose main symptom is gray or silvery flaky patches on the skin which are red and inflamed underneath. In the United States, it affects 2 to 2.6 percent of the population, or between 5.8 and 7.5 million people. Commonly affected areas include the scalp, elbows, knees, arms, stomach and back. Psoriasis is autoimmune in origin, and is not contagious. Around a quarter of people with psoriasis also suffer from psoriatic arthritis, which is similar to rheumatoid arthritis in its effects. Psoriasis was first given that name in complete differentiation from other skin conditions by the Austrian dermatologist Ferdinand von Hebra in 1841, although there are what are believed to be descriptions of the disease in sources going back to ancient Roman and possibly even biblical times.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Smoking May Worsen Psoriasis
Need another reason to quit smoking? It might be making your psoriasis worse.
Researchers have found a link between smoking and the severity of psoriasis. According to a December 2005 study in Archives of Dermatology, people who smoke more than one pack a day have double the risk of severe psoriasis compared to people who smoke half a pack or less a day.
For some time, researchers have known that cigarettes may trigger psoriasis in people who are susceptible to the disease, especially pustular psoriasis. In one study, cigarette smoking more than doubled the risk of developing psoriasis in women and almost the same in men.
It is unclear exactly how smoking might exacerbate psoriasis, but cigarettes are known to alter the function of white blood cells. Smoking may also cause the body to overproduce proteins that contribute to skin inflammation in psoriasis.
Although there's no direct evidence that quitting smoking can improve your condition, it's possible you could boost your odds. According to a 2000 study in Cutis, three-quarters of those whose psoriasis had gone into remission were nonsmokers, while two-thirds of those whose disease remained largely the same were smokers.
In any case, kicking the habit is a proven way to improve your overall health and reduce your risk of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. So, if you're a smoker, it's important to take steps to quit. Quitting can be difficult, but support can be found through smoking cessation programs at hospitals and health centers or through individual, group or telephone counseling.
Another popular choice for helping to kick the habit is nicotine replacement therapy, which is available in gum, inhaler, nasal spray and patch form. These products are designed to be tapered slowly as you wean yourself off nicotine. Other choices are bupropion (Wellbutrin) and nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl). These products don't contain nicotine, but they can help reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Researchers have found a link between smoking and the severity of psoriasis. According to a December 2005 study in Archives of Dermatology, people who smoke more than one pack a day have double the risk of severe psoriasis compared to people who smoke half a pack or less a day.
For some time, researchers have known that cigarettes may trigger psoriasis in people who are susceptible to the disease, especially pustular psoriasis. In one study, cigarette smoking more than doubled the risk of developing psoriasis in women and almost the same in men.
It is unclear exactly how smoking might exacerbate psoriasis, but cigarettes are known to alter the function of white blood cells. Smoking may also cause the body to overproduce proteins that contribute to skin inflammation in psoriasis.
Although there's no direct evidence that quitting smoking can improve your condition, it's possible you could boost your odds. According to a 2000 study in Cutis, three-quarters of those whose psoriasis had gone into remission were nonsmokers, while two-thirds of those whose disease remained largely the same were smokers.
In any case, kicking the habit is a proven way to improve your overall health and reduce your risk of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. So, if you're a smoker, it's important to take steps to quit. Quitting can be difficult, but support can be found through smoking cessation programs at hospitals and health centers or through individual, group or telephone counseling.
Another popular choice for helping to kick the habit is nicotine replacement therapy, which is available in gum, inhaler, nasal spray and patch form. These products are designed to be tapered slowly as you wean yourself off nicotine. Other choices are bupropion (Wellbutrin) and nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl). These products don't contain nicotine, but they can help reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Lapto Psoriasis Infects Village
Bellary, Karnataka:
The mystery disease that has affected 258 people, including 156 women, at Siddammanahalli village in this district, has been diagnosed as Lapto Psoriasis.Informing this to newspersons here today, National Institute for Communicable Diseases Deputy Director and Microbiologist Dr Sohan Lal said unclean and unhygienic environment, lack of proper drainage system and drinking contaminated water led to the outbreak of the disease.
Animals and rodents were the main carriers of the Lapto Spiral bacteria which caused the disease.
He said the disease was also prevalent at Yadgiri in Gulbarga district, some villages in Bidar district, Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh, besides some villages in Maharashtra.
Dr Lal and Lab Assistant Shivakumar went round the village yesterday to zero in on the cause for the spread of the disease. Expressing satisfaction over the supply of medicines by the District Health Department to contain the disease, Dr Lal said the Veterinary Department had been asked to initiate steps to study cattle diseases.
The mystery disease that has affected 258 people, including 156 women, at Siddammanahalli village in this district, has been diagnosed as Lapto Psoriasis.Informing this to newspersons here today, National Institute for Communicable Diseases Deputy Director and Microbiologist Dr Sohan Lal said unclean and unhygienic environment, lack of proper drainage system and drinking contaminated water led to the outbreak of the disease.
Animals and rodents were the main carriers of the Lapto Spiral bacteria which caused the disease.
He said the disease was also prevalent at Yadgiri in Gulbarga district, some villages in Bidar district, Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh, besides some villages in Maharashtra.
Dr Lal and Lab Assistant Shivakumar went round the village yesterday to zero in on the cause for the spread of the disease. Expressing satisfaction over the supply of medicines by the District Health Department to contain the disease, Dr Lal said the Veterinary Department had been asked to initiate steps to study cattle diseases.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Join The National Psoriasis Foundation To Speak Out On Capitol Hill
The National Psoriasis Foundation is urging people who care about psoriasis to make their voice heard by joining the Foundation at its third annual Capitol Hill Day, Feb. 26-27, 2006. Foundation staff and volunteers from around the country will personally deliver a message to Congress on the seriousness of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, the importance of access to medications and the need for more federal research funding toward a cure. Deadline for registration is Jan. 26. "Constituent voices on Capitol Hill make all the difference," says Gail M.Zimmerman, president and CEO of the National Psoriasis Foundation. "People affected by these diseases need to stand up and be heard." Zimmerman encourages people to join the effort. "This is a powerful opportunity to increase our impact in Washington, D.C.," she says. Capitol Hill Day 2005 brought tangible results for the psoriasis community: More than two dozen U.S. representatives signed a joint letter in support of increased psoriasis research funding at the National Institutes ofHealth (NIH); related Senate appropriations report language was adopted; and the Senate passed a resolution recognizing August 2005 as Psoriasis Awareness Month. The 2005 event served as a spring board for further action, as psoriasis advocates sent nearly 10,000 messages to Congress through the PsoriasisFoundation Web site on behalf of psoriasis since last April. No experience is necessary to attend Capitol Hill Day. The Psoriasis Foundation provides training and information, and will pair volunteers together when they visit congressional offices. Limited scholarship money for expenses is available for people who qualify, on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, to register, or to inquire about a scholarship, go to http://www.psoriasis.org or call1-800-723-9166.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Identifying A Important Trigger In Psoriasis
An immune molecule that normally assists in cell “suicide” may be an important trigger in the development of the common skin disease psoriasis, according to scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and State University of New York, Stony Brook.
The culprit, a molecule called Fas, acts as a middleman between activated immune cells and a handful of inflammatory hormones involved in psoriasis flare-ups, say Technion researcher Dr. Amos Gilhar and colleagues. The study appears in the January, 10 2006 American Journal of Pathology.
Psoriasis is a non-contagious, lifelong skin disease that usually appears as scaly and inflamed patches of skin, although it can take several different forms. In patients with psoriasis, the white blood cells that make up the body’s immune defense system go into overdrive, triggering other immune responses that pile up skin cells at an abnormal rate.
Current treatments for psoriasis such as the drug Enbrel focus on these inflammatory hormones, but the researchers were able to stop the development of psoriasis in mice long before these hormones came into play by injecting an Fas-blocking antibody.
“The finding that antibodies to Fas can prevent psoriasis further demonstrates the complexity of the disease and its numerous molecular pathways,” Gilhar says.
Dr. Alice Gottlieb, chair of the Clinical Research Center at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey agrees. “This research shows that activation of the Fas pathway is important in starting the ball rolling in psoriasis,” comments Gottlieb (who was not involved with this study). “These findings could have implications for other immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease,”
The researchers suspected that the Fas molecule was in the middle of this process, since it is found at high levels in psoriatic skin and leads an intriguing dual life. Most of the time, Fas guides the normal process of cell suicide called apoptosis. But in cells where apoptosis is blocked by other molecules, as it is in psoriatic cells, Fas switches roles and encourages the production of common inflammatory hormones instead.
To figure out exactly where Fas stood in the development of psoriasis, Gilhar and colleagues transferred grafts of clear, non-involved skin from human psoriasis patients to mice. They injected the mice with white blood cells bearing the Fas molecule on their surfaces to jump-start the formation of psoriatic skin lesions.
By blocking Fas action with a special antibody, the researchers were able to show that Fas actually is the key middleman in psoriasis formation. Without Fas, the natural killer cells were unable to trigger the production of the inflammatory hormones that lead to the characteristic skin thickening and other signs of psoriasis.
There is some evidence that Fas is involved in other skin conditions such as eczema, so future treatments targeting the Fas pathway may prove useful for a variety of diseases, suggests Dr. Richard Kalish, Gilhar’s collaborator from SUNY Stony Brook. However, researchers need to develop a human antibody to Fas before the technique could be tested in people.
“The current study is one of the many wonderful papers that have come out of this very productive collaboration across many miles between Dr. Gilhar and Dr. Kalish,” says Gottlieb.
According to the National Psoriasis Foundation in the United States, 1-3 percent of the world’s population suffers from psoriasis. About 30 percent of people with psoriasis have severe cases, where the affected skin covers more than 3 percent of their body. In some people, the disease is associated with a form of arthritis.
The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is Israel's leading science and technology university. Home to the country’s winners of the Nobel Prize in science, it commands a worldwide reputation for its pioneering work in nanotechnology, computer science, biotechnology, water-resource management, materials engineering, aerospace and medicine. The majority of the founders and managers of Israel's high-tech companies are alumni. Based in New York City, the American Technion Society is the leading American organization supporting higher education in Israel, with 17 offices around the country.
The culprit, a molecule called Fas, acts as a middleman between activated immune cells and a handful of inflammatory hormones involved in psoriasis flare-ups, say Technion researcher Dr. Amos Gilhar and colleagues. The study appears in the January, 10 2006 American Journal of Pathology.
Psoriasis is a non-contagious, lifelong skin disease that usually appears as scaly and inflamed patches of skin, although it can take several different forms. In patients with psoriasis, the white blood cells that make up the body’s immune defense system go into overdrive, triggering other immune responses that pile up skin cells at an abnormal rate.
Current treatments for psoriasis such as the drug Enbrel focus on these inflammatory hormones, but the researchers were able to stop the development of psoriasis in mice long before these hormones came into play by injecting an Fas-blocking antibody.
“The finding that antibodies to Fas can prevent psoriasis further demonstrates the complexity of the disease and its numerous molecular pathways,” Gilhar says.
Dr. Alice Gottlieb, chair of the Clinical Research Center at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey agrees. “This research shows that activation of the Fas pathway is important in starting the ball rolling in psoriasis,” comments Gottlieb (who was not involved with this study). “These findings could have implications for other immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease,”
The researchers suspected that the Fas molecule was in the middle of this process, since it is found at high levels in psoriatic skin and leads an intriguing dual life. Most of the time, Fas guides the normal process of cell suicide called apoptosis. But in cells where apoptosis is blocked by other molecules, as it is in psoriatic cells, Fas switches roles and encourages the production of common inflammatory hormones instead.
To figure out exactly where Fas stood in the development of psoriasis, Gilhar and colleagues transferred grafts of clear, non-involved skin from human psoriasis patients to mice. They injected the mice with white blood cells bearing the Fas molecule on their surfaces to jump-start the formation of psoriatic skin lesions.
By blocking Fas action with a special antibody, the researchers were able to show that Fas actually is the key middleman in psoriasis formation. Without Fas, the natural killer cells were unable to trigger the production of the inflammatory hormones that lead to the characteristic skin thickening and other signs of psoriasis.
There is some evidence that Fas is involved in other skin conditions such as eczema, so future treatments targeting the Fas pathway may prove useful for a variety of diseases, suggests Dr. Richard Kalish, Gilhar’s collaborator from SUNY Stony Brook. However, researchers need to develop a human antibody to Fas before the technique could be tested in people.
“The current study is one of the many wonderful papers that have come out of this very productive collaboration across many miles between Dr. Gilhar and Dr. Kalish,” says Gottlieb.
According to the National Psoriasis Foundation in the United States, 1-3 percent of the world’s population suffers from psoriasis. About 30 percent of people with psoriasis have severe cases, where the affected skin covers more than 3 percent of their body. In some people, the disease is associated with a form of arthritis.
The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is Israel's leading science and technology university. Home to the country’s winners of the Nobel Prize in science, it commands a worldwide reputation for its pioneering work in nanotechnology, computer science, biotechnology, water-resource management, materials engineering, aerospace and medicine. The majority of the founders and managers of Israel's high-tech companies are alumni. Based in New York City, the American Technion Society is the leading American organization supporting higher education in Israel, with 17 offices around the country.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Another Option In Psoriasis Treatment
Abbott Laboratories announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the biologic drug Humira (generic name adalimumab) for reducing signs and symptoms of active arthritis in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Humira is also approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The National Psoriasis Foundation welcomes the news as another treatment option for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients.
How will people use it?Patients take Humira at home by giving themselves an injection of 40 milligrams (mg) every other week, similar to diabetes patients who give themselves insulin injections. Humira is designed to be taken continuously to maintain improvement. The medication can be used alone or in combination with methotrexate or other DMARDs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs) under a doctor's supervision.
How effective is it?In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 313 patients with active psoriatic arthritis, researchers monitored joint symptoms and the skin.
Improvements in both skin and joint symptoms were seen as early as two weeks and continued to improve over time.
Determining arthritis measurement scores in those using 40 mg of Humira every other week:
At week 12, nearly 60 percent achieved 20 percent improvement
At week 24, nearly one quarter achieved 70 percent improvement
Nearly 70 patients in the trial had skin lesions involving greater than 3 percent body surface area and were treated with Humira. In measurements of psoriasis severity by week 24:
75 percent achieved 50 percent improvement
Nearly 60 percent achieved 75 percent improvement
More than 40 percent achieved 90 percent improvement Humira is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of psoriasis, but studies of its effectiveness in treating this disease are being conducted.
How does it work?Humira blocks tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a chemical "messenger" in the immune system that signals other cells to cause inflammation. There is too much TNF-alpha in the skin of people with psoriasis and the joints of people with certain types of arthritis.
Humira helps lower the amount of TNF-alpha, thus interrupting the inflammatory cycle of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and leading to improvement in symptoms for many people who take it.
What are the side effects?Common side effects in psoriatic arthritis patients included upper respiratory tract infections, injection site reactions and high blood pressure.
According to the product label information, in studies of rheumatoid arthritis patients, the most common side effects included:
upper respiratory infections
abdominal pain
headache
rash
injection site reactions
urinary tract infection
These side effects were generally mild and did not cause most patients to stop taking Humira. These events happened most often after the first dose of Humira and may decrease after additional doses.
Humira treatment should not be started in someone with an active infection, and it may not be recommended for someone with a history of recurring infections. People taking Humira should be monitored for signs of infection, and if a serious infection develops, the medication should be stopped.
Tuberculosis, invasive fungal infections and other serious infections have been reported in Humira patients; some of the infections have been fatal. The infections often occurred in patients who were also using other medications that affect the immune system, such as methotrexate.
People should be evaluated for latent TB infections by getting a TB skin test prior to treatment with Humira. Patients with evidence of TB exposure might require additional testing and treatment before starting Humira.
There have been rare reports of central nervous system disorders in association with the use of Humira. Doctors are advised to use caution in considering the use of Humira in patients with pre-existing or the recent onset of central nervous system disorders, including multiple sclerosis. About 12 percent of patients develop antibodies to the medication, and these people are more likely to have an allergic-type reaction to the treatment.
The FDA has reviewed the association between TNF-alpha medications such as Humira and an increased risk of developing lymphoma, a type of cancer. The FDA concluded there is not enough data to know if these medications contributed to higher risk. Humira's safety and side effects continue to be monitored by Abbott Laboratories and the FDA.
How will people use it?Patients take Humira at home by giving themselves an injection of 40 milligrams (mg) every other week, similar to diabetes patients who give themselves insulin injections. Humira is designed to be taken continuously to maintain improvement. The medication can be used alone or in combination with methotrexate or other DMARDs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs) under a doctor's supervision.
How effective is it?In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 313 patients with active psoriatic arthritis, researchers monitored joint symptoms and the skin.
Improvements in both skin and joint symptoms were seen as early as two weeks and continued to improve over time.
Determining arthritis measurement scores in those using 40 mg of Humira every other week:
At week 12, nearly 60 percent achieved 20 percent improvement
At week 24, nearly one quarter achieved 70 percent improvement
Nearly 70 patients in the trial had skin lesions involving greater than 3 percent body surface area and were treated with Humira. In measurements of psoriasis severity by week 24:
75 percent achieved 50 percent improvement
Nearly 60 percent achieved 75 percent improvement
More than 40 percent achieved 90 percent improvement Humira is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of psoriasis, but studies of its effectiveness in treating this disease are being conducted.
How does it work?Humira blocks tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a chemical "messenger" in the immune system that signals other cells to cause inflammation. There is too much TNF-alpha in the skin of people with psoriasis and the joints of people with certain types of arthritis.
Humira helps lower the amount of TNF-alpha, thus interrupting the inflammatory cycle of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and leading to improvement in symptoms for many people who take it.
What are the side effects?Common side effects in psoriatic arthritis patients included upper respiratory tract infections, injection site reactions and high blood pressure.
According to the product label information, in studies of rheumatoid arthritis patients, the most common side effects included:
upper respiratory infections
abdominal pain
headache
rash
injection site reactions
urinary tract infection
These side effects were generally mild and did not cause most patients to stop taking Humira. These events happened most often after the first dose of Humira and may decrease after additional doses.
Humira treatment should not be started in someone with an active infection, and it may not be recommended for someone with a history of recurring infections. People taking Humira should be monitored for signs of infection, and if a serious infection develops, the medication should be stopped.
Tuberculosis, invasive fungal infections and other serious infections have been reported in Humira patients; some of the infections have been fatal. The infections often occurred in patients who were also using other medications that affect the immune system, such as methotrexate.
People should be evaluated for latent TB infections by getting a TB skin test prior to treatment with Humira. Patients with evidence of TB exposure might require additional testing and treatment before starting Humira.
There have been rare reports of central nervous system disorders in association with the use of Humira. Doctors are advised to use caution in considering the use of Humira in patients with pre-existing or the recent onset of central nervous system disorders, including multiple sclerosis. About 12 percent of patients develop antibodies to the medication, and these people are more likely to have an allergic-type reaction to the treatment.
The FDA has reviewed the association between TNF-alpha medications such as Humira and an increased risk of developing lymphoma, a type of cancer. The FDA concluded there is not enough data to know if these medications contributed to higher risk. Humira's safety and side effects continue to be monitored by Abbott Laboratories and the FDA.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)