Health & Technology

Don't Miss

For Younger Cancer Patients, Mastectomy vs. Breast-Conserving Surgery

Younger breast cancer patients who have one or both breasts removed have lower levels of satisfaction...
Fewer Early Stage Breast Cancer Patients May Need Lymph Node Removal: Study

For many breast cancer patients, removal of lymph nodes in the armpit area is a common...
New Chlamydia Test Offers Rapid Results

A new test for chlamydia can provide results within 30 minutes, potentially speeding up the start...

More Health & Technology News

World’s First Baby Born From Deceased Donor’s Transplanted Uterus
The world’s first baby born to a woman who had a uterus transplant from...
- Posted December 5, 2018
- 13
Old-Fashioned Play Beats Digital Toys for Kids, Pediatricians Say
If you’re shopping for toys this holiday season, make sure some simple, old-fashioned items...
- Posted December 3, 2018
- 2
Many Cases of Polio-Like Illness in Kids May Be Misdiagnosed
There’s a good chance that some cases of the mysterious polio-like illness seen recently...
- Posted November 30, 2018
- 9
Freeze-Dried Vaccine May Help Rid World of Polio
A freeze-dried polio vaccine that could be used in locations without refrigeration might help...
- Posted November 27, 2018
- 10
A Slam Dunk: Late-Night Tweets Harm NBA Players’ Performance
Late-night tweeting leads to poorer next-day performance by professional basketball players, according to a...
- Posted November 19, 2018
- 13
Bypass Beats Stents for Diabetics With Heart Trouble: Study
People with both diabetes and multiple clogged heart arteries live longer if they undergo...
- Posted November 13, 2018
- 9
Dead End for Treatment of Polio-Like Disorder Striking Kids
The antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) is ineffective in treating a rare, polio-like disorder that can...
- Posted November 9, 2018
- 6
Change Within the Eye May Be Early Warning for Macular Degeneration
Age-related eye disease is a worldwide problem that costs people not only their vision,...
- Posted November 9, 2018
- 15
Home Health-Care Tests: Proceed With Caution
Home pregnancy tests are commonplace, but that doesn’t mean that every type of self-test...
- Posted November 7, 2018
- 2
Smartphones, Summer Birth Could Raise Kids’ Odds for Nearsightedness
Kids with summer birthdays, especially those who spend long hours playing on smartphones and...
- Posted November 7, 2018
- 11
Less-Invasive Surgery for Cervical Cancer May Bring More Risks, Studies Find
Surgeons have long turned to a minimally invasive means of hysterectomy when treating early...
- Posted November 1, 2018
- 14

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.