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‘Awareness’ Under C-Section Anesthesia May Be Less Rare Than Thought

It’s a woman’s worst nightmare: You’re having a C-section under anesthesia, but you suddenly become aware...
Pandemic Is Tied to Big Rise in U.S. Heart Deaths

In a finding that highlights another health consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, researchers report that the...
Red Cross Issues Call for More Blood Plasma to Treat COVID Patients

The American Red Cross is urging COVID-19 survivors to donate blood plasma for hospital patients who...

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Are You Living with Psoriasis?

A growing knowledge of the skin disease called psoriasis is leading to greater treatment choices, including personalized therapies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports.

Psoriasis is an immune system disorder that causes overproduction of skin cells, resulting in scaling, pain, swelling, redness and heat. The condition affects about 7.5 million Americans.

“As we better understand the disease, researchers know more about what specific factors to target in order to develop effective treatments,” FDA dermatologist Dr. Melinda McCord said in an agency news release.

There is no cure for psoriasis, so the main goals of treatments are to stop skin cell overproduction and reduce inflammation. Current therapies include medicines applied to the skin (topical), light treatment (phototherapy), or drugs taken by mouth or given by injection.

Doctors used to take a step-by-step approach, starting patients with mild to moderate psoriasis on topical therapy. If that was ineffective, doctors moved on to phototherapy or drug treatment.