Health & Technology

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More Social Media Use, More Fake COVID News

People getting their COVID-19 information from social media are more likely to receive misinformation, Canadian researchers...
Many Americans Pause Social Media as National Tensions Rise

The coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have prompted some Americans to take a...
Will the Telemedicine Boom Outlast the Pandemic?

Telemedicine has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the United States on track to log more...

More Health & Technology News

One Disease Mosquitoes Don’t Spread: Coronavirus
Although scientists haven’t nailed down how the new coronavirus jumped to humans, a new...
- Posted July 29, 2020
- 14
Lab-Created Virus Can Help COVID-19 Research, Developers Say
A lab-created virus that’s similar to but not as dangerous as the new coronavirus...
- Posted July 27, 2020
- 9
Success of Smallpox Vaccine Bears Lessons for Coronavirus Vaccine
Scientists who have identified the early smallpox strains used to create vaccines against the...
- Posted July 21, 2020
- 7
Black Kids Face Higher Odds of Post-Op Complications Than White Kids
When healthy kids have surgery, serious complications are uncommon. But even in that low-risk...
- Posted July 20, 2020
- 17
Get on the Bus: Lifesaving Lung Screens Hit the Road
Irene Johnson noticed a big, blue bus bearing the words “Breathe Easy” outside the...
- Posted July 16, 2020
- 4
Global Population Will Peak by Mid-Century, Shifting Economic Power
The world’s population is shifting, with a new analysis predicting it will peak in...
- Posted July 15, 2020
- 13
What If a COVID-19 Vaccine Arrived and Many Americans Said No?
With several potential COVID-19 vaccines now in clinical trials, U.S. policymakers need to plan...
- Posted July 14, 2020
- 13
Evidence Mounts That TB Vaccine Might Help Protect Against COVID-19
A tuberculosis vaccine may help reduce the risk of death from COVID-19, researchers suggest....
- Posted July 13, 2020
- 15
Pandemic Is Changing Addiction Care, for Better and Worse
The COVID-19 pandemic is shaking up America’s approach to addiction treatment, but the fallout...
- Posted July 9, 2020
- 13
Tech Is Keeping More Americans in Touch With Doctors
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, nearly 50% of Americans have used technology to communicate...
- Posted July 8, 2020
- 9
No Good Evidence on Accuracy of Coronavirus Antibody Tests: Study
Do you wonder if you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus in the recent...
- Posted July 2, 2020
- 7

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.