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Newer Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug May Help Ease Tough-to-Treat Cases

A recently approved rheumatoid arthritis medication appears to be an effective second-line therapy when biologic treatments...
Staying Social Can Boost Healthy ‘Gray Matter’ in Aging Brains

Older adults who get together with friends, volunteer or go to classes have healthier brains, which...
Having Heart Disease Can Make Other Surgeries More Risky

Heart patients may face a greater chance of cardiovascular complications after having major surgery that doesn’t...

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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.