Infectious Disease

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CDC Broadens Definition of ‘Close Contact’ in Tracing COVID Infections

In a move that widens the pool of people considered at risk for coronavirus infection, U.S....
More Than Half of Americans Know Someone Infected or Ill With COVID: Poll

More than half of all Americans have been personally affected by COVID-19 at this point in...
New Wave of COVID Infections Taking Hold in America

A third surge of coronavirus cases now has a firm grip on the United States, with...

More Infectious Disease News

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- Posted October 21, 2020
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CDC Recommends Face Masks in All Public Transportation Settings
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- Posted October 20, 2020
- 12
Curbing COVID Brought Unexpected Benefit for Asthma Patients
Measures enacted to slow the spread of the new coronavirus also appeared to reduce...
- Posted October 20, 2020
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Reopened Schools in New York City Not Seeing COVID Case Spikes
Three weeks after becoming the first big urban area to reopen public schools since...
- Posted October 19, 2020
- 2
Celebrate Autumn Traditions Without Raising Your COVID Risk
As the weather gets cooler and social activities move indoors, Americans need to take...
- Posted October 18, 2020
- 8
America Sees Daily COVID Cases Pass 60,000 Once Again
The number of new U.S. coronavirus cases topped 60,000 on Thursday, a tally not...
- Posted October 16, 2020
- 10
Chinese COVID Vaccine Shows Promise in Early Trial
An experimental COVID-19 vaccine appeared to be safe and triggered an immune response in...
- Posted October 16, 2020
- 1
Heart Defects Don’t Increase Risk of Severe COVID-19
In what will come as reassuring news to those who were born with a...
- Posted October 16, 2020
- 1
Americans Might Need to Pass on Thanksgiving Gatherings: Fauci
The nation’s top infectious diseases expert warned Wednesday that Americans need to consider canceling...
- Posted October 15, 2020
- 9
Pandemic Precautions: The TV News You Watch Might Matter
Masks or no masks? Social distancing or not? New research suggests that the media...
- Posted October 15, 2020
- 7
COVID Cases Climbing in 36 States
Coronavirus outbreaks in the Midwest and Western United States have driven the national case...
- Posted October 14, 2020
- 2

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.