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New Medicare Perk: Diabetes Prevention

Millions of U.S. seniors can now take part in a Medicare program designed to prevent prediabetes...
Fewer Money Worries Can Pay Off in Better Health

It’s no secret that money worries can lead to health issues, so reducing monthly bills is...
Poll: Americans Fear Crippling Medical Bills More Than Illness

Medical care costs in the United States can be so overwhelming that Americans fear the cost...

More Health Insurance News

Alzheimer’s Stigma a Barrier to Prevention, Care: Survey
Stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s disease may discourage Americans from learning about their risk and from...
- Posted March 28, 2018
- 4
Insurance Company Hurdles Burden Doctors, May Harm Patients
The scenario may sound familiar: Your doctor sends your prescription electronically to the pharmacy,...
- Posted March 19, 2018
- 14
Cutting Co-Pays Helps Heart Patients Take Their Meds
People who’ve had a heart attack are more likely to be prescribed and take...
- Posted March 14, 2018
- 5
More Americans Pushed Into High-Deductible Health Plans
The number of uninsured American adults held steady at about 13 percent in 2017,...
- Posted February 22, 2018
- 10
Spending More on Health Care? Here’s Why
Americans spent more on health care in 2016, even though their use of health...
- Posted January 23, 2018
- 14
Obamacare Led to Rise in Breast Cancer Screening
More American women started getting recommended mammography screening after an “Obamacare” rule made the...
- Posted January 18, 2018
- 17
As CHIP Money Runs Out, Millions of U.S. Kids May Lose Health Care
Time is running out for millions of American kids covered by the Children’s Health...
- Posted January 12, 2018
- 11
Many Lung Cancer Patients Aren’t Getting Best Treatment: Study
Chemotherapy and radiation are the standard of care for small-cell lung cancer that hasn’t...
- Posted January 10, 2018
- 2
Poor Credit Scores, Poor Health
You know that poor lifestyle choices today can affect your health tomorrow. But according...
- Posted January 8, 2018
- 12
When Tax Reform Becomes Law, ACA’s Individual Mandate Becomes History
With the Republican-led Congress preparing to hand President Donald Trump his first major legislative...
- Posted December 19, 2017
- 6
Today Is the Deadline for Obamacare 2018
Today marks the end of the shortened sign-up period for most Americans to buy...
- Posted December 15, 2017
- 4

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.