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Coming Soon: Glaucoma Self-Care, From Home?

Study finds many patients can manage self-testing, but one doctor questions its value
One Weight-Loss Surgery Shows Lasting Results

Patients 77 pounds slimmer on average 12 years after gastric bypass, study finds
Some May Need a Little Help Monitoring Blood Pressure at Home

Heart group says single, less educated people too often forgo this key means of tracking their...

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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.