Infectious Disease

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FDA Panel OKs Pfizer Booster Shot for People 65 or Older, But Not Younger

An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday recommended a third Pfizer-BioNTech...
Long-Haul COVID in Kids Typically Ends Within 3 Months: Study

In kids and teens, symptoms of long COVID rarely last more than 12 weeks, a new...
FDA Advisory Panel to Meet on COVID Booster Shots

U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisors will meet Friday to consider whether it is safe and...

More Infectious Disease News

Is Flu Ready for a Comeback? Get Your Shot
Health officials are bracing for a viral double whammy this fall and winter. “This...
- Posted September 17, 2021
- 6
Hospitalizing the Unvaccinated Has Cost U.S. Nearly $6 Billion
The cost of providing hospital care for unvaccinated Americans has reached $5.7 billion in...
- Posted September 16, 2021
- 5
Why Are More U.S. Babies Being Born With Syphilis?
The number of U.S. infants born with syphilis is climbing at an alarming pace,...
- Posted September 16, 2021
- 9
Biden Administration Buys More Monoclonal Antibody Treatments to Ward Off Shortage
As severe cases of COVID-19 rise and demand surges for monoclonal antibody treatments, the...
- Posted September 16, 2021
- 11
Even When Undergoing Treatment, People With MS Gain From COVID Vaccines
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients undergoing a treatment that depletes a type of immune cell...
- Posted September 16, 2021
- 13
How Effective Is Your Homemade Mask?
If you’re making your own face mask to protect against COVID-19, three layers of...
- Posted September 16, 2021
- 3
Is a Combo COVID/Flu Shot on the Way?
During the next few weeks or months, you might find yourself dropping by the...
- Posted September 15, 2021
- 16
Pet Store Puppies Passing Drug-Resistant Bacteria to People
It’s hard to resist those big, pleading eyes in the pet store window. But...
- Posted September 15, 2021
- 5
Jeff Bridges Says Cancer Is in Remission, But COVID Fight Was Tougher
Jeff Bridges has had a rough year. Almost a year ago, the actor was...
- Posted September 15, 2021
- 15
Your Diet Could Cut Your Odds for Severe COVID-19
People who eat plenty of fruits and vegetables may have a somewhat lower risk...
- Posted September 14, 2021
- 9
Israeli Data on COVID Boosters to Be Published This Week in Major Journal
TUESDAY, Sept. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) – New data out of Israel, to be...
- Posted September 14, 2021
- 11

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.