Thought this was interesting, the price of Dovobet is frightening !!

Hello you lot,
I'm back, I think. You see, I seem to remember joining before now, but lost my account I must have

Any how, for those that don't know me...
Geeky 37 year old bloke.
Likely Aspergers but not yet diagnosed.
Married with 2 children (aged 4 and 7, the kids that is, wifey is much closer to my age ).
Chronic Plaque Psoriasis since about 7 years old.
Psoriatic Arthritis first diagnosed at about 17 years old.
Been through about every treatment the NHS has to offer....
Currently having success with Stelara for about a year. Skin mostly clear although a little worse at the mo'. Joints not too bad either, although I don't think thats much to do with the Stelara. A change of lifestyle the last few months has meant I can look after myself better; Stretching/exercise/meditation etc. Currently no painkillers, funny story that, co-codamol was making my pain worse after I got addicted to it. So with some effort I got 'clean' and have been quite a lot better since.

RE: PM's - I can't reply yet, must need to post more and prove I'm no robot.

All the best,
Daniel

(soldersplash)

There has been a big media report about a Flesh Eating Disease in Pangasinan province of the Philippines, and the report is false according to the Philippine Information Agency and they appealed to media to check the validity of news reports on health-related cases before releasing to the public.

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Feb. 26 (PIA) -- The supposed “mysterious flesh-eating illness” in Pangasinan is a hoax, the provincial health officer said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Anna Maria Teresa de Guzman belied a news report that two patients were suffering from a “mysterious” disease that is eating the flesh of its victims.

She said the patients from the towns of Santa Barbara and Villasis are actually afflicted with psoriasis and leprosy.

“Both ailments are controllable, not contagious and pose no threat to the public,” De Guzman said.

The Provincial Health Office came out with a finding after looking into a report from ABSCBN’s news program ‘Bandila” on Monday night that the patients were afflicted with rare necrotizing fasciitis or flesh-eating disease.

De Guzman said in 2011, the patient from Santa Barbara was diagnosed with leprosy, a disease that causes skin sores.

She added the patient was already treated but a drug reaction triggered the leprosy to resurface.

“Nagkaroon siya ng hypersensitivity doon sa gamot kaya nagkaroon ng reaction sa kanyang katawan (She developed hypersensitivity from a drug which caused skin reaction),” De Guzman said.

She has no menstrual period, a sign of malnutrition and anemia, which aggravated her condition, she said.

The patient, who was initially-treated in another private health facility, has now completed the treatment but may still need debridement for her skin lesions, she added.

The second patient from Villasis is ailed with severe case of psoriasis (a skin disease that causes peeling and red marks on the skin) with arthritis which prevents him from walking.

She said the victim already had psoriasis since birth (genetic) which was triggered due to various factors including weather changes and stress.

“The two reported patients are now admitted at the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City to undergo further treatment and medical diagnosis,” she added.

De Guzman said the report only connected the two case studies to a prophecy by a self-titled prophet Sadhu Sundar Selvaraja of Jesus Ministries in April 2013 warning that a flesh-eating disease would spread from the Ilocos province to the world. He also prophesied the typhoons that caused destruction and heavy flooding in Luzon and Visayas last year.

She appealed to media to check the validity of news reports on health-related cases before releasing to the public.

Researchers at The Centre for Dermatology Research at Wake Forest Baptist assessed how often steroids were prescribed to treat psoriasis and trends in their use over time.

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When it comes to psoriasis management guidelines, use of systemic corticosteroids are discouraged, but a new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center indicates they are widely prescribed by dermatologists.

Researchers at The Center for Dermatology Research at Wake Forest Baptist assessed how often these drugs - prednisone, dexamethasone and methylprednisolone - were prescribed and trends in their use over time.

"Expert guidelines discourage their use for psoriasis due to concerns about causing flares of generalized pustular psoriasis, but there are no randomized controlled trials of systemic corticosteroids in psoriasis to look at these issues," said Scott A. Davis, M.S., a co-author of the study and assistant director of the Center for Dermatology Research at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Davis and colleagues used National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data to determine the systemic medications prescribed for psoriasis from 1989 to 2010. They found that systemic corticosteroids were prescribed at 650,000 of 21 million psoriasis visits. Of these prescriptions, 93 percent were from dermatologists. Corticosteroids were the second most commonly prescribed systemic medication for psoriasis, according to the study which appears online this month ahead of print in the journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery.

Despite the warnings and concerns, the drugs are widely used, the study showed. "Psoriasis has an enormous impact on patients' lives, and there have been major recent advances in treatment," Davis said. "While the new treatments are highly effective and appear very safe, they are costly; their effects are well studied. In contrast, while corticosteroids have been available for decades, their use in psoriasis has not been extensively studied."

I am wondering if anyone has any advice or tips on dealing with nail Psoriasis.
Mine are pretty bad at the moment, pitted and very sore if i knock them. Two of them look like they are coming away from the nail bed (which makes me feel queasy everytime i think about it.)

I guess its hard to treat but just wondered if there was anything out there.

Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced today that a peer-reviewed article describing the recent progress of boron-based compounds in medicine and the properties of these compounds that support their development for the treatment of various skin disorders will be published in the February 17, 2014 edition of the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. “From the Test Tube to the Treatment Room: Fundamentals of Boron-Containing Compounds and Their Relevance to Dermatology” is co-authored by James Q. Del Rosso, D.O., F.A.O.C.D., dermatologist in private practice at Las Vegas Skin and Cancer Clinics in Henderson, Nevada and Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Henderson, Nevada and Jacob. J. Plattner, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research, Anacor Pharmaceuticals.

The authors note that the therapeutic benefit of incorporating boron into a chemical compound is derived from boron’s unique physical, chemical and structural properties. Boron has an empty p-orbital which gives it the capacity to form covalent bonds at a target site on a protein, rendering the protein inactive or less active. Several examples of proteins that boron-containing compounds have been found to inhibit include phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) thereby reducing the cytokine production in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis; leucyl tRNA synthetase thereby blocking protein synthesis in dermatophytes; and β-lactamases, thereby reducing resistance to antibiotic therapy.

The authors also note that, until recently, the use of boron in drug development has been widely overlooked. Initially, boron was incorporated into drug candidates as boronic acid which made the compounds overly reactive resulting in off-target binding and decreasing their potential effectiveness as therapeutic agents. However, since then, researchers found that if they incorporated boron into compounds as part of a cyclic structure rather than as an acid, they were able to produce small boron-based molecules that are highly stable, demonstrate effective target binding and selectivity and exhibit optimal physical properties that allow access to the necessary site of the disease target.

“The use of boron in drug discovery and development is very exciting to dermatology and other fields of medicine. Boron’s unique properties allow it to bind to target proteins involved in key pathophysiologic pathways which has opened the door to new potential therapies in dermatology including fungal infections such as onychomycosis, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, bacterial infections and other skin diseases,” said Dr. Del Rosso.

Boron-based compounds currently in development for dermatologic indications include tavaborole, which is being reviewed by the FDA for the treatment of toenail onychomycosis and AN2728, a PDE4 inhibitor which has completed Phase 2 studies in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. A third compound, AN3365, is being evaluated as a gram-negative antibiotic. All three compounds were discovered and are being developed by Anacor Pharmaceuticals.

Source: anacor.com

*Anacor is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel small-molecule therapeutics derived from its boron chemistry platform.

A new study published in Science Translational Medicine shows there could be a new target for the treatment of psoriasis, and it is the first time that this gene has been identified as having a specific link to the condition.

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Cytokines are critical checkpoints of inflammation. The treatment of human autoimmune disease has been revolutionized by targeting inflammatory cytokines as key drivers of disease pathogenesis. Despite this, there exist numerous pitfalls when translating preclinical data into the clinic.

We developed an integrative biology approach combining human disease transcriptome data sets with clinically relevant in vivo models in an attempt to bridge this translational gap. We chose interleukin-22 (IL-22) as a model cytokine because of its potentially important proinflammatory role in epithelial tissues.

Injection of IL-22 into normal human skin grafts produced marked inflammatory skin changes resembling human psoriasis. Injection of anti–IL-22 monoclonal antibody in a human xenotransplant model of psoriasis, developed specifically to test potential therapeutic candidates, efficiently blocked skin inflammation.

Bioinformatic analysis integrating both the IL-22 and anti–IL-22 cytokine transcriptomes and mapping them onto a psoriasis disease gene coexpression network identified key cytokine-dependent hub genes. Using knockout mice and small-molecule blockade, we show that one of these hub genes, the so far unexplored serine/threonine kinase PIM1, is a critical checkpoint for human skin inflammation and potential future therapeutic target in psoriasis.

Using in silico integration of human data sets and biological models, we were able to identify a new target in the treatment of psoriasis.

New research published by Research And Markets shows Market value of Systemic psoriasis treatments are set to rise from $5 billion in 2013 to $10.4 billion by 2020.

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The systemic psoriasis treatment market value in the eight major countries (8MM) — the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan — is expected to more than double in the near future, jumping from $5 billion in 2013 to $10.4 billion by 2020, at a significant Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.1%

The company’s new report states that across the 8MM, 4.1 million people were diagnosed with some form of moderate-to-severe psoriasis in 2013. This number is expected to climb slightly to 4.4 million by 2020, with 1.5 million of the population being treated with systemic agents.

Fiona Chisholm, report analyst, says: “This growth in the treatment population will be driven by a marginal rise in the global prevalence of psoriasis, as well as an increase in the diagnosis rate resulting from higher disease awareness and improved diagnostic methods.

“Additionally, psoriasis is increasingly being recognized as a serious systemic disease with associated quality of life impairment and disability, rather than as a simply cutaneous disease. As perceptions of psoriasis continue to change, healthcare professionals will consider treatment as non-optional.”

Although some revenue losses are anticipated to occur throughout the forecast period, due to patent expiries, the introduction of new, novel biologics with positive efficacy profiles will drive further market growth.

According to the authors, secukinumab, brodalumab and ixekizumab are three particularly promising, late-stage pipeline monoclonal antibodies directly targeting IL–17, a pro-inflammatory cytokine. In addition to these upcoming biologics, some orally administered, small molecule compounds are also expected to enter the market over the coming years, such as Xeljanz, a janus kinase inhibitor, and apremilast, a PDE4 inhibitor.

This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by a team of industry experts.

Hello there,

Before I start, I'd like to express my sheer relief at the stories I've been reading on here of fellow psoriasis sufferers and their experiences; not that I feel good about other people suffering, just that it is *so* good not to feel so isolated with this very lonely condition.

I've had psoriasis from a very young age, but nothing more dramatic than a scaly scalp and a bit of itching behind the ears.

Five years ago it flared up and I had it all over my scalp and on my arms and body ... again, it wasn't particularly dramatic - just redness and itching - and coal tar shampoo plus some gooey medicated oinkment (the name of which escapes me) sorted it out.

This time, it has kindly enveloped my whole body (bar my face, thankfully) in painful redness and plaques, and has decided for extra measure to infect my right shin. It has been dramatic and life-changing, and has greatly reduced my quality of life. I can get no relief from the pain and everything I do causes pain, ie standing up, sitting down, walking, going to the Ladies, getting dressed, getting undressed and so on. I am here because I have reached a level of desperation ... not being one to generally feel sorry for myself, I have twice in a week burst into tears from the unremitting pain and the futility of the several medications I've tried, none of which have worked.

I have an appointment with a dermatologist next Friday, which I am hoping (praying!) will help ... so far I have seen 6 doctors and am on my fourth dose of antibiotics since 3 December 2013. The steroid creams are too painful to use, and I had an allergic reaction to one of the bath lotions I was prescribed. I have also tried two different (prescribed) antihistamines, neither of which have worked.

I'm sorry to whinge, but was hoping there might be someone out there who could maybe identify with what I am going through, who might be able to suggest something ... I have wonderful supportive friends, but don't know anyone who has this condition to the degree that I am experiencing it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated ...................... thanks x

I was contact today by a member asking if it was possible to get Emails from the forum in their own language.

I didn't think it was, but I was wrong you can get Emails in your chosen language. Obviously the content of the Email will still be in English.
But instead of getting  

Has anyone had any success with forming a new relationship whilst living with Psoriasis?
I mean how and when do you bring it up?
How do you get past the embarrassment of the flaking for instance.

Hello,

I'm 37 years old and was diagnosed just over a year ago. It came as a big surprise because I have friends with psoriasis and have always thought that it is the kind of condition you develop in your teens and it is genetic. I thought I was definitely not getting it because no one in my family has it and I was already in my 30s. How wrong I was!

I must say I was quite depressed when I was first diagnosed because I had seen how bad it could be. The doctor first prescribed 2 doses of anti-fungal pills (he said it slowed down the growth rate of the skin cells which is one of the causes) and Dermovate mixed with some kind of ointment. It took me 2-3 weeks to get rid of a patch on my elbow (about 2 cm in diameter).

After that my super sensitive skin went a bit mad. I would feel burning sensation on my elbows and arms, but no patches. After a while, it went away.

About 4-5 months later, I got another flare up around the same area, just a few bumps similar to insect bites. I couldn't find time to go to see the doctor, so I searched the Internet for some homemade cure to help until I could find the time. I came across the baking soda method. I made a paste and applied it on my elbow once a day. After 3 days, it got so much better that I didn't even go to see my doctor.

I also drank fresh mangosteen juice. And that helped me a lot. According to a recent research I read, people with psoriasis has a high level of TH2 which is the stuff your white blood cells produce. The mangosteen juice helps increase the T-regulator which helps control the level of TH2. I don't know if this is scientifically sound, but a friend of mine has tried a dose of new medicine which helps control the immune system as a way to help control psoriasis. So she said my mangosteen juice was not that far off from modern medicine.

The down side of it is magosteen juice is quite pricey. A 300g bag is about 160 THB (maybe it doesn't sound much for those of you in the US or UK, but it is certainly not cheap if you think of the cost of living here in Bangkok) because it uses up to 5 kg of mangosteen to make one bag. And it's a hassle when you travel because it's heavy and takes up a lot of space. (Having said that, I did take 6 bags with me when I was on a 9-day Japan trip last year)

I'm having another visit from psoriasis now. Just a few bumps. I'm back to one bag mangosteen juice a day, baking soda paste and generous application of coconut oil twice daily. Let's see how it goes. I'm tempted to try the Eucalyptus oil too.

When I look at my psoriasis, I wonder if it is red in color or?? Currant? Wine as in Cabernet or Zinfandel? What do you consider red in the coloring of skin?

After many years of suffering with psoriasis, and reading a lot of information on the web, I decided to join this forum. I have felt so alone and so embarrassed as my psoriasis has escalated. It is on 60% of my body and I am fearful!
My husband has been diagnosed with stage IV Esophageal cancer last year and has undergone many surgeries and treatments. I believe that stress is a big component to my psoriasis hence the increase of affected areas on my body. I just spent the last few days in the hospital with my husband as he underwent his latest procedure and I can not tell you how mortified I was throughout each day! My dried dead skin flaked off my body with every movement I made and landed on the dark cherry floors of the hospital room. It looked like sawdust! I would quietly grab a towel when I could and towel sweep the floor... gathering all the flaked skin in a pile so that when housekeeping came, they would not see as much of this questionable white substance.
We returned home today, and this evening I made my bath consisting of half a box of baking soda and bath salts. This is the most amount of baking soda I have used, but as my skin felt as if it was on fire because it was so dry, I didn't think it would hurt. And it didn't! It was very soothing and I could see that my skin was not only softening, but some of the redness was lessening and that says a lot on my skin.
I am going to keep trying this for 5 days because at this point I don't know what else to do.
It is one day at a time in my life as I walk besides my husband...I want to YEARS with him not just days! And I want to one day have the skin I used to be so proud of 5 years ago.
Thanks all!

This report published in the official journal of American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that Psoriasis is frequently misdiagnosed after the use of Baby/Wet Wipes when in fact it is allergic Contact Dermatitis.

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Methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI) is a combination preservative used in personal care and household products and is a common cause of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). Recently, MI alone, without MCI, has been increasingly used in consumer products in attempts to minimize allergic reactions.

Wet wipes are extensively tested and traditionally believed to be innocuous. MI in wet wipes (“baby wipes”) has not been previously reported to cause ACD in children in the United States. Only 1 previous report of ACD in a child in Belgium has been recently reported. We report 6 children with chronic, perianal/buttock, and facial eczematous dermatitis, refractory to multiple topical and oral antibiotics and corticosteroids.

All tested positive to MCI/MI on patch testing. None wore diapers. All patients had been using wet wipes containing MI (without MCI) to affected areas. Discontinuation of wipes resulted in rapid and complete resolution.

This is the first report of pediatric ACD to MI in wet wipes in the United States, and the largest series to date. ACD to MI in wet wipes is frequently misdiagnosed as eczema, impetigo, or psoriasis.

Wet wipes are increasingly marketed in personal care products for all ages, and MI exposure and sensitization will likely increase. Dermatitis of the perianal, buttock, facial, and hand areas with a history of wet wipe use should raise suspicion of ACD to MI and prompt appropriate patch testing.

Rapid resolution occurs after the allergen exposure is eliminated. All isothiozolinones should be avoided in personal care and household products for these patients.

Are there any links between psoriasis and eczema.
The reason I ask is because my granddaughter is suffering all over with very itchy eczema and I wondered if there is a link between the two conditions.

Hi my name is Mike I have had Psoriasis now for around ten years.

Hello,
Introducing myself to the forum. I was diagnosed with eczema and psoriasis in September 2013. Pustular, scalp and inverse, which quickly graduated to erythrodermic! ( such an over achiever I am!)

Anyway, topicals don't seem to be helpful, currently on MTX (6 doses in) seeing relief of the EP, but skin is still covered about 80% with pustular.

Nice to meet you all!

Mdgal

Hey guys, nice to meet you all.
My name is Amber and 20. I have had psoriasis for 3 years now. I've had full body psoriasis and it healed on its own several months later. I have had scalp psoriasis ever since and I only recently stopped the bad habit of  picking at the scabs and scales. I'm worried about it causing my hair loss. I'm also at a very stressful point in my life right now so I think that's contributing too.

Thanks for reading

I've had psoriasis for about three years. Mine started along with other symptoms - low energy, stomach issues, anxiety. After many visits to various docs, it was discovered I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. My immune system is attacking my thyroid causing all of these issues. I've been on thyroid meds for many years but even though TSH showed normal, the other labs for T3 and thyroid perioxidase very really off. I have started on a detox program to jumpstart my stomach (immune system) as disease starts from the gut. I also loaded up on cod liver oil, vitamin d3, b12, magnesium. I am on a gluten free/dairy free diet. I drink a lot of veggie/fruit smoothies. After only a week, the psoriasis is drying up. The doctor told me to use Emu oil to help heal the lesions. I just got it yesterday and it is already clearing up very nicely. It's amazing stuff. I wanted to share this journey and I will be sure to add as it continues. The anxiety is also clearing up. When I would lay down at night, it felt like my head was alive until I moved around on various pillows trying to settle it down. It's now gone.

Thank the Lord. Kat