Archive for the ‘psoriasis’ Category
New patient registry PsoProtect for those battling both psoriasis and COVID-19/coronavirus could help provide treatment insights to both ailments
Scientists and physicians in the UK, working with an international coalition of experts and organizations, have launched a web-based registry that will gather health information on people with psoriasis who develop confirmed or suspected COVID-19/coronavirus. The results, if enough doctors participate, could provide important information in the treatment of both Continue Reading…
Do I need to worry about links between psoriasis and Alzheimer’s disease?
You may have seen the headlines: “Psoriasis tied to higher Alzheimer’s disease risk.” Great. Just another thing to worry about thanks to psoriasis, right? But when you dig into the research, you realize it’s mostly just the usual media hype: there’s no need to panic the next time you misplace Continue Reading…
Amgen to test Otezla as possible COVID-19 coronavirus treatment
Biotech giant Amgen, known in the psoriasis world for its longtime blockbuster Enbrel (etanercept), a biologic used in the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, has announced that the company “plans to study psoriasis drug Otezla as a potential treatment for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.” Continue Reading…
“Fail first” insurance mandates not just a problem for U.S. psoriasis patients
“Fail first” policies are one of the mandates imposed by some U.S. health insurers to reduce their costs. They require that people with psoriasis (and other serious diseases) try older and inferior – and often less safe – treatments before they can access the 21st century treatments that work best. Continue Reading…
Imagine knowing after 4 weeks, how a new psoriasis treatment would be working for you after 6 months…
Here’s an interesting, after-the-fact analysis from clinical trials of the biologic Ilumya (tildrakizumab-asmn), an “IL-23 inhibitor” marketed by Sun Pharma. The researchers looked at psoriasis severity scores used in clinical trials, known as PASI scores (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index), for each patient. Each patient’s score is determined before the Continue Reading…
Opioid use “substantial” among people with moderate to severe psoriasis
A recent study looked at a database of privately insured people that included about 9,000 psoriasis patients, of whom just over 2,000 were identified as having moderate to severe psoriasis. It found that about 25% of those 2,000 received opioids, compared to 16% of otherwise-comparable people without psoriasis. The figure Continue Reading…
Big Mac please, hold the broccoli
Today we report a study merely as a reminder that just because it is in a scientific journal does not make it the Gospel. It was a very small study, out of Japan, based on self-reported dietary history questionnaires. (The accuracy of self-reported dietary histories is probably right up there Continue Reading…
Study finds startling rates of joint surgery in psoriatic arthritis patients
There’s a psoriatic arthritis study out of Denmark with some troubling statistics. The researchers looked at the Danish National Patient Registry from 1996 to 2017, and compared joint surgery rates between almost 12,000 psoriatic arthritis patients, and more than 100,000 people without psoriatic arthritis used as “controls” for comparison purposes. Continue Reading…
AbbVie, maker of Humira and Skyrizi, getting closer to third product to fight psoriatic disease
AbbVie, the North Chicago company behind the longtime blockbuster biologic Humira (adalimumab) and a new biologic Skyrizi (risankizumab-rzaa), moved closer this week to having its new rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pill, Rinvoq (upadacitinib), approved for psoriatic arthritis. Rinvoq is a JAK inhibitor being studied for psoriatic arthritis as a once-daily pill. Continue Reading…
New study links itch in skin conditions (including psoriasis) to clinical depression
A new study has found that “the presence of itch in dermatological patients is significantly associated with clinical depression” and suicidal thoughts. The study, of more than 4,500 people across 13 European countries, compared four groups of people: those with dermatological (skin) diseases like psoriasis who reported having itch, those Continue Reading…
