Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Anne Marie Tremaine, MD
Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated condition that affects 7.5 million Americans. There is no cure for this condition, thus long-term management by your dermatologist is necessary. Psoriasis causes red, raised, scaly patches to appear on the skin, and any portion of the skin can be involved, however, the elbows, knees, scalp, nails, palms, and soles are most commonly affected. Twenty to thirty percent of patients with psoriasis will also have psoriatic arthritis, which is a destructive arthritis that needs aggressive treatment to prevent permanent damage to the joints.
Psoriasis research has been flourishing and we have a multitude of treatment options, many of which are new within the last 15 years. Treatment options include topical creams (steroids, vitamin D analogues, coal tar), light therapy, oral medications (apremilast, acitretin, methothrexate), and targeted immune modifiers (injectable biologics). The biologics have really been a game changer for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in terms of efficacy and ease of treatment. There are several different commercially available biologics that target various parts of the inflammatory process of psoriasis. Some of the injectables are only administered once every three months allowing control of the disease with just four injections each year. Each treatment carries a different side effect profile, and the appropriate treatment will be patient dependent.
Finally, I think it is important to think of psoriasis in the same way as you would high blood pressure or diabetes. These are all chronic, systemic diseases, requiring continued treatment. And importantly, all three conditions can improve with lifestyle modifications, such as weight loss, smoking cessation, and reduction of alcohol intake.
Anne Marie Tremaine, MD
Board Certified Dermatolgist
Harvard Cosmetic and Laser Medicine Fellowshp
Dr. Tremaine is a board-certified dermatologist with fellowship training at Harvard Medical School in laser and cosmetic surgery. She has contributed as a dermatology expert for online and print magazines including Family Fun, msn.com, menshealth.com, and ccn.com. In addition, she frequently lectures to professional societies on her diverse research. For more information about skin care visit the Skin Wellness
Physicians website at: www.skinwellnessflorida.com
