Hello Guest, Welcome To The Psoriasis Club Forum. We are a self funded friendly group of people who understand.
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Psoriasis Club is a friendly on-line Forum where people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis
can get together and share information, get the latest news, or just chill out with others who understand. It is totally
self funded and we don't rely on drug manufacturers or donations. We are proactive against Spammers,
Trolls, And Cyberbulying and offer a safe friendly atmosphere for our members.
So Who Joins Psoriasis Club?
We have members who have had psoriasis for years and some that are newly diagnosed. Family and friends of those with psoriasis
are also made welcome. You will find some using prescribed treatments and some using the natural approach. There are people who
join but keep a low profile, there are people who just like to help others, and there are some who just like
to escape in the Off Topic Section.
Joining Couldn't Be Easier: If you are a genuine person who would like to meet others who understand,
just hit the Register button and follow the instructions.
Members get more boards and privileges that are not available to guests.
OK So What Is Psoriasis?
Psoriasis is a chronic, autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It
occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the
growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. It commonly
causes red, scaly patches to appear on the skin, although some patients
have no dermatological symptoms. The scaly patches commonly caused by
psoriasis, called psoriatic plaques, are areas of inflammation and
excessive skin production. Skin rapidly accumulates at these sites which
gives it a silvery-white appearance. Plaques frequently occur on the
skin of the elbows and knees, but can affect any area including the
scalp, palms of hands and soles of feet, and genitals. In contrast to
eczema, psoriasis is more likely to be found on the outer side of the
joint.
The disorder is a chronic recurring condition that varies in severity
from minor localized patches to complete body coverage. Fingernails and
toenails are frequently affected (psoriatic nail dystrophy) and can be
seen as an isolated symptom. Psoriasis can also cause inflammation of
the joints, which is known as (psoriatic arthritis). Ten to fifteen
percent of people with psoriasis have psoriatic arthritis.
The cause of psoriasis is not fully understood, but it is believed to
have a genetic component and local psoriatic changes can be triggered by
an injury to the skin known as Koebner phenomenon. Various
environmental factors have been suggested as aggravating to psoriasis
including stress, withdrawal of systemic corticosteroid, excessive
alcohol consumption, and smoking but few have shown statistical
significance. There are many treatments available, but because of its
chronic recurrent nature psoriasis is a challenge to treat. You can find more information
Here!
Got It, So What's The Cure?
Wait Let me stop you there! I'm sorry but there is no cure. There are things that can help you
cope with it but for a cure, you will not find one.
You will always be looking for one, and that is part of the problem with psoriasis There are people who know you will be
desperate to find a cure, and they will tell you exactly what you want to hear in order to get your money. If there is a
cure then a genuine person who has ever suffered with psoriasis would give you the information for free. Most so called cures
are nothing more than a diet and lifestyle change or a very expensive moisturiser. Check out the threads in
Natural Treatments first and save your money.
Great so now what? It's not all bad news, come and join others at Psoriasis Club and talk about it. The best help is from accepting it and talking
with others who understand what you're going through. ask questions read through the threads on here and start claiming
your life back. You should also get yourself an appointment with a dermatologist who will help you find something that can
help you cope with it. What works for some may not work for others
Hi there,grumpy gertie alias brigantia here.Have had a sunshine holiday in Lanzarote.I am sorry to say it did not do the trick and did not make it any better.I knew it would not take it away.But i thought it might ease it a little.It is still my head i am having bother with.Paid to see a specialist Dermatologist.He put me on Synalar for my head.I have never heard of that for years.I remember we used to use in for patients at the hospital i was a staff nurse in.But he sent a letter to my Dr to ask him to refer me to a hospital that gives you Light treatment.Only two here in the North East of England.Wot a bummer the waiting list is about two miles long.You cannot go private and you cannot buy one.So i guess i will just have to scratch my head like a mad women.I sent to the USA for some cream someone advisd on your site and wot a load of rubbish.I will not say the name of it so do not ask.Sorry about that
Posted by: Fred - Thu-02-02-2012, 21:18 PM
- Replies (9)
The Original Singing Detective is starting a Rerun tonight on BBC4 22:00 GMT.
The Singing Detective is a BBC television miniseries written by Dennis Potter, which stars Michael Gambon, and was directed by Jon Amiel. The six episodes were "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It".
The serial was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 in 1986 on Sunday nights at 8pm from 16 November to 21 December with later PBS and cable television showings in the United States. PBS at that time considered it too risqué to be shown in prime time, delaying its programming until 11pm.
Plot:
Mystery writer Philip E. Marlow is suffering writer's block and is hospitalised because of his psoriatic arthritis, and is at a chronic stage forming lesions and sores over his entire body, and partially cripples his hands and feet. As a result of constant pain, a fever caused by the condition, and his refusal to take medication, Marlow falls into a fantasy world involving his Chandleresque novel, The Singing Detective, an escapist adventure about a detective (also named "Philip Marlow") who sings at a dance hall and takes the jobs "the guys who don't sing" won't take. As well as its dark themes, the series is notable for its use of 1940s-era music, often incorporated into surreal musical numbers.
Dennis Potter suffered from psoriatic arthritis himself, and he wrote with a pen tied to his fist much in the same fashion Marlow does in the last episode.
My skin has cracks in it ...which has happened for years.. He said I could get a bacterial infection. If anyone has had that occur would they please, time permitting, send me a PM.
I am curious to know more besides a web article. I did not like seeing the list of co-occuring things for P and PA on the Webex from NPO. It is hard enough to accept the skin condition, I dislike the word disease....In my ignorance, I like to believe a disease is something you catch.
I am not subscribing or being hypervigilant about waiting for all the possible health conditions that I might get. If I chose to catastrophize I would never leave the house and be agoraphobic.
Happy hour isn't soon enough.
Fred not sure where this goes and not savvy with website navigatgion.
Posted by: Fred - Tue-31-01-2012, 15:32 PM
- Replies (3)
Background:
Scratching an itch is perceived as being pleasurable. However, an analysis of topographical variations in itch intensity, the effectiveness of scratching to provide itch relief and the associated pleasurability has not been performed at different body sites.
Objective:
To examine the role of scratching pleasurability in providing itch relief by investigating whether itch intensity is perceived differently at 3 different sites and to assess a potential correlation between the pleasurability and itch attenuation induced by scratching.
Methods:
Itch was induced on the forearm, ankle and back using cowhage spicules in eighteen healthy subjects. These sites were subsequently scratched by an investigator with a cytology brush immediately following itch induction. The intensity of itch with and without scratching at these sites and the pleasurability of scratching were recorded by taking VAS ratings at 30 seconds intervals.
Results:
Average itch intensity and scratching pleasurability ratings at the ankle and back were significantly higher than on the forearm. For the forearm and ankle, the higher the itch while scratching, the higher was the pleasurability. A higher baseline itch was linked to a higher itch reduction secondary to scratching in all tested areas. Pleasurability paralleled the curve of itch reduction for the back and forearm, however scratching pleasurability at the ankle remained elevated and only slightly decreased while itch was diminishing.
Conclusions:
There are topographical differences in itch intensity, the effectiveness of scratching in relieving itch and the associated pleasurability. Experimental itch induced by cowhage was more intensely perceived at the ankle, while scratching attenuated itch most effectively on the back.
The new findings may explain why patients with eczema and psoriasis commonly have itching on their back and ankle. "We never understood why those areas were more affected, and now we better understand that itch in these areas is more intense and pleasurable to scratch," Yosipovitch said.
The reason for difference in itching pleasurable may lie in the way that sensory nerves are distributed throughout the body, the researchers say. The findings may have implications for itch treatment. "If we could translate this to a treatment that induces a pleasurable relief sensation without damaging the skin, we may be able to help itchy patients," he said.
Posted by: Fred - Tue-31-01-2012, 15:18 PM
- Replies (7)
Background:
Patients with psoriasis who had raised IgG and/or IgA antigliadin antibodies showed clinical improvement in a trial with a gluten-free diet. The selection of patients for the diet treatment was based on the presence of specific antibodies, i.e. the result of humoral immunity.
Objectives:
As psoriasis is now considered to be a T cell-mediated disease we decided to challenge peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in vitro from randomly selected patients with well-defined wheat proteins/peptides to explore the possibility of identifying a specific antigen with T cell activating properties in a subgroup of patients.
Methods:
PBMCs from 37 patients (20 female and 17 male; mean age 49 years) and 37 healthy controls (12 female and 25 male; mean age 57 years) were included. Not all patients participated in all experiments. The PBMCs were exposed in vitro with the following wheat proteins/peptides in various concentrations: total albumins, 0·28 α-amylase inhibitor and the synthetic peptides, p31–43, p57–68 and p62–75, based on coeliac-active sequences of α-gliadin. The proliferative response was measured as counts per minute after the cells had been pulsed with methyl-3H-thymidine.
Result: Albumin, α-amylase inhibitor, p31–43 and p57–68 elicited a significant response in both patients and controls but showed no differences between the groups. The response induced by the α-amylase inhibitor was higher than that induced by the albumin fraction and the p31–43 and p57–68 peptides. At a concentration of 25 μg mL−1, five of 36 patients with psoriasis responded positively to the p62–75 peptide and none of the 33 controls, using a stimulation index of 2·4 as the cut-off level (P < 0·05). These five patients did not show clinical features that differed from the remaining patients. Among the responding patients the relative number of CD4+ cells increased in some but not all after in vitro challenge with the albumins, 0·28 α-amylase inhibitor, and p62–75. These antigens could also induce in vitro the expression of the homing antigen cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA) in a few patients and controls.
Conclusions: The wheat protein antigens, especially the p62–75 peptide, might be of interest in a subgroup of patients with psoriasis.
Source: British Journal of Dermatology onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Posted by: Fred - Tue-31-01-2012, 13:49 PM
- Replies (2)
Researchers at Linköping University are launching a plan to effectively treat psoriasis.
An important component is the psoriasin protein (S100A7), which are abundant in psoriasis-affected skin but rarely in normal skin. The same protein is also assumed to be a factor in the development of breast cancer. The research team, led by associate professor Charlotta Enerbäck, have now illustrated that, in a study on cultured skin cells, the interaction between psoriasin, oxygen free radicals and vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) leads to significantly increased cell division and growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). When we blocked the formation of psoriasin, the expression of VEGF also decreased.
“We want to examine the ability of psoriasin as a target for therapy. By inhibiting psoriasin, we believe we can reduce vascular formation and thus the proliferation of the disease’s magnitude and intensity,” says Charlotta Enerbäck.
Previous studies in mice have shown that angiogenesis inhibitors reduce not only neovascularization but also inflammation and excessive cell division. Attempts to inhibit the growth factor VEGF have resulted in unwanted side effects because it exists in normal tissue where it contributes to wound healing.
“Since psoriasin expresses itself specifically only in the diseased psoriatic skin, we expect that inhibitors against this are highly selective and effective against the disease, and that the risk for side effects is minimal,” says Charlotta Enerbäck.
Presently, palliative treatments with vitamin D, cortisone, light and low doses of chemotherapy are used. More recently, some "biological", antibody-based drugs arrived on the market, however they are very expensive and not free from side effects.
Posted by: Fred - Tue-31-01-2012, 13:42 PM
- No Replies
Variants in a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 33 gene (ADAM33) are associated with psoriasis in Han Chinese people, suggest study results.
Many previous studies have isolated variants on several genes, such as the interleukin 23 receptor gene, that are significantly associated with psoriasis.
"However, the combined effect of certain susceptibility loci cannot entirely account for the observed genetic predispositions to psoriasis, suggesting that psoriasis susceptibility is largely polygenic," write Yuzhen Li (Harbin Medical University, Heilongjiang, China) and colleagues in Dermatology.
Variants in ADAM33 have been linked to several immune-mediated disorders including asthma.
To test whether mutations in ADAM33 are also associated with psoriasis, Li and team recruited 400 Han Chinese patients with psoriasis and 398 controls without the condition to take part in their study.
The participants were genotyped for six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs2787094, rs512625, rs528557, rs597980, rs612709, and rs677044, in ADAM33 that have been putatively linked with psoriasis susceptibility in European and American populations.
As reported in Dermatology, the team found that C allele carriers (CC and CG genotypes) of the rs2787094 and rs528557 SNPs had increased risk for psoriasis compared with GG homozygotes.
The strongest association was for people with the CC genotype of rs2787094 who had a significant 2.54-fold increased risk for psoriasis compared with people with the AA genotype.
Of twelve haplotypes constructed from each patient's genotype for the six SNPs, three (H1, H3, and H5) were observed significantly more often in psoriasis patients versus controls and were therefore associated with an increased risk for the condition.
Li and team also found that people with the AA genotype for rs512625 and A-allele carriers (AA and GA genotypes) of the rs612709 SNP seemed to be protected against psoriasis. Haplotype H8 also showed evidence of being protective against the disease.
The strongest protective effect associated with an individual SNP genotype was for the rs612709 AA genotype which reduced risk for psoriasis by a significant 41%.
"This study suggests an association between ADAM33 gene polymorphisms and psoriasis in the northeastern Chinese Han population, providing new information regarding diagnosis and therapeutic strategies for psoriasis," say Li et al.
"Further association and functional studies of additional ADAM33 SNPs and other genes are required in diverse ethnic large-sample populations to identify the genetic factors associated with psoriasis," they conclude.
Posted by: Fred - Tue-31-01-2012, 13:27 PM
- No Replies
Treating psoriasis patients earlier in life could help prevent later physical and psychological problems, according to Dr. Alexa B. Kimball.
"We used to think that we should save our therapies until our patients really needed them, because we were afraid that toxicity might accumulate," Dr. Kimball said at the annual Caribbean Dermatology Symposium. However, that thinking has changed, thanks in part to the availability of safer treatment options.
But of equal importance, "treating patients early in their disease may have an impact that affects the rest of their lives," including jobs, education, socioeconomic status, and curbing the development of health problems like obesity, cardiovascular disease, and psychiatric disorders, she said.
The quality of life issues associated with psoriasis are well known, but recent data confirm that physical and mental comorbidities start in childhood.
According to recent data from the National Psoriasis Foundation, 38% of children with psoriasis reported being bullied because of their condition, noted Dr. Kimball of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.
Another study found that approximately one-third of children aged 4-17 years with psoriasis had a body mass index greater than the 95th percentile Conditions such as childhood obesity are not easily managed, and have significant implications for future health, she said.
In a retrospective study of 7,404 psoriasis patients younger than 18 years and 37,020 healthy controls, children with psoriasis were significantly more likely than controls to develop any psychiatric disorder (5% vs. 4%), depression (3% vs. 2%), and anxiety (2% vs. 1%), Dr. Kimball and her colleagues found.
And the likelihood of comorbidities in psoriasis patients continues as they grow up, she said. "Chronic disease interacts with psychosocial and health events in a complex and ongoing manner throughout a person’s life."
Comorbidities in psoriasis patients appear to accumulate over time. Dr. Kimball cited data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, a cohort including more than 100,000 women who were aged 27-44 years in 1991. In a subset of 1,813 women with psoriasis, the risk of diabetes was approximately 60% higher, and the risk of hypertension was almost 20% higher, compared with women without psoriasis.
In a case-control study conducted by Dr. Kimball and her colleagues, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and obesity all increased significantly in psoriasis patients, compared with healthy controls, over a 4-year follow-up period.
These findings suggest that medical comorbidities associated with psoriasis accumulate over time; therefore, aggressive treatment of psoriasis in younger patients could improve their psychological and physical quality of life, Dr. Kimball said. Although there are no recommendations for additional health screening for psoriasis patients beyond the age-recommended preventive health measures, "younger patients especially need to be monitored for psychiatric issues," she said. And these patients should be kept up to date on vaccinations, particularly the annual flu vaccine and the human papillomavirus vaccine.
Posted by: Fred - Mon-30-01-2012, 00:47 AM
- No Replies
Some people are having problems receiving E-Mails from Psoriasis Club.
The emails are sent for account activation, new post notifications, PM notifications, Important announcements, Etc.
Please make sure you check your Spam Folder to see if there are any messages from Psoriasis Club, and mark them as not spam. Also make sure you have the relevant box's ticked in your User CP > Edit Options.
Posted by: Fred - Fri-27-01-2012, 20:51 PM
- Replies (5)
Malignancy rates in psoriasis patients treated with Stelara (ustekinumab) did not increase significantly over 4 years of follow-up, based on pooled data from 3,117 patients enrolled in ustekinumab clinical trials.
Ustekinumab has shown effectiveness for treating moderate to severe psoriasis, but due to the potential of increased risk for cancer associated with its use, patients from several clinical trials (including PHOENIX I, PHOENIX II, and ACCEPT) are still being followed, said Dr. Kim A. Papp, director of research at Probity Medical Research, Waterloo, Ont., and colleagues.
The cumulative rates for nonmelanoma skin cancer in patients treated with ustekinumab for psoriasis remained low and stable throughout the follow-up period. A total of 0.57 cancer events per 100 person-years were reported in 2009 and 0.62 cancer events per 100 person-years were reported in 2010. The findings were presented at the annual Caribbean Dermatology Symposium.
In the complete analysis that included 6,791 patient-years of follow-up, 41 patients treated with any dose of ustekinumab developed at least one nonmelanoma skin cancer, and 3 patients developed both basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
Another 42 patients developed at least one other malignancy, including 4 patients with melanoma in situ. However, no cases of invasive melanoma were observed during the study period. The other most common malignancies were prostate cancer (12 patients), colorectal cancer (4 patients) and breast cancer (3 patients).
By comparison, 39 individuals in the general population (based on the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database) developed at least one malignancy.
The findings were limited by the inclusion of several studies of varying lengths and by the inclusion criteria that can make comparison with the general population difficult, the researchers noted. The results suggest that rates of nonmelanoma skin cancer and other malignancies in psoriasis patients taking ustekinumab do not increase over time.
However, "additional long term data from clinical trials, observational registries, and postmarketing reporting databases will continue to define the ustekinumab malignancy risk profile," they wrote.
Well, I have now been on the MTX now for almost 5 month's and so far it's not going badly at all.
For the majority of my scaled patches, the treatment is doing a pretty good job, but on a couple of small patches it is not performing quite so well.
Don't get me wrong, it is working, but not as effectively as some other area's.
I recently went back for a Consultant check at the hospital, I was told that I could increase the dose to 12.5 or 15mg, but I chose to stay on the current dosage, simply because I am not getting any side effects at all.
I have also stopped smoking within the last 2 weeks, but whether this benefits me treatment wise, I have yet to find out.
To summarise: The treatment all seems to be going well with no apparent side effects, so Happy days.
Hope this helps, any queeries just ask or PM.
Regards to all
Micky
Posted by: Fred - Sat-14-01-2012, 13:26 PM
- Replies (3)
Genentech Inc. is facing the first trial of patients’ claims that its withdrawn Raptiva psoriasis drug spawned fatal infections in some users.
Officials of Genentech, a unit of Basel, Switzerland-based drugmaker Roche, are readying for a Jan. 30 jury trial in state court in California over allegations that Raptiva caused Stephen Johnson’s death. The 46-year-old Louisiana businessman took the drug to treat a skin condition. Genentech withdrew the medication from the market almost three years ago after it was linked to fatal brain infections.
“Psoriasis isn’t life-threatening and his wasn’t even that horrible,” Mark Lanier, a lawyer for Johnson’s family, said in an interview. “This drug was never about the patients. This drug was about the money.”
Genentech, based in South San Francisco, California, began withdrawing Raptiva from U.S. and European markets in April 2009 after three psoriasis patients were diagnosed with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, a rare, incurable brain infection. The month before the withdrawal, Roche completed a $46.8 billion buyout of the biotech company.
Nadine O’Campo, a Genentech spokeswoman, declined to comment on the upcoming Raptiva trial. “Given this litigation is ongoing, we are not commenting,” she said in an e-mailed statement.
Psoriasis is a disease that leaves sufferers dealing with red, itchy skin lesions, lawyers for Johnson’s family said in court filings. Johnson had taken the drug for almost five years before his death in January 2009, the filings show.
Damages Sought
Genentech officials estimated in 2009 about 2,000 U.S. patients were taking the drug when the company began pulling it from shelves. The medication, which generated $108 million in sales in 2008, had been used by an estimated 46,000 patients worldwide. The psoriasis treatment was approved for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2003.
Johnson’s case is the first of about 100 Raptiva suits that have been consolidated before Judge Steven Brick in state court in Oakland, California. Lanier said there are other cases in federal and state courts in Texas and Massachusetts.
The family is seeking $15 million in compensatory damages over Johnson’s death along with “several hundred million dollars” in punitive damages, Lanier said.
Weakened Immune System
Johnson’s wife contends the businessman, who owned a medical-supply store in a suburb of New Orleans, was healthy when he started taking Raptiva to treat his psoriasis and the drug weakened his immune system to the point that he developed a fatal infection.
Doctors at an emergency room in Kenner, Louisiana, noted that Johnson’s death was likely caused by “overwhelming sepsis complicated by the fact that patient was relatively immunosuppressed from his Raptiva,” according to a Jan. 5 court filing.
Lanier and other lawyers for former Raptiva patients contend in the cases that Genentech officials downplayed the medication’s health risks and failed to alert regulators about a patient’s death in 2004 from the same kind of infection that claimed Johnson’s life five years later.
To boost the drug’s prospects, Genentech officials hired an FDA regulator who was responsible for with monitoring Raptiva’s development and discussed “paying the official up to $30,000 to buyout out his contract,” Susanne Scovern, another lawyer representing Johnson’s family, said in a court filing.
The former FDA official, Dr. William Schwieterman (CHTP), later left Genentech and now serves as a consultant to biotech and pharmaceutical makers, Scovern said in an interview.
The biotech company also failed to disclose an internal 2007 analysis that found Raptiva users were five times as likely to get types of pneumonia infections as the general population, Scovern said in the filing.
The case is Johnson v. Genentech Inc., RG 10-494957, California Superior Court, Alameda County (Oakland).
Posted by: Fred - Fri-13-01-2012, 11:07 AM
- Replies (5)
Introduction. Psoriasis is associated with systemic metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, both of which share risk factors with erectile dysfunction (ED). However, few studies have investigated the association between ED and psoriasis.
Aim. This study set out to estimate the association between ED and having previously been diagnosed with psoriasis by using a population-based dataset with a case-control design.
Methods. This study used administrative claim data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance program. We identified 4,606 patients with ED as the study group and randomly selected 13,818 patients as the comparison group. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the association between ED and having previously received a diagnosis of psoriasis.
Results. Of the sampled patients, 136 (0.7%) had been diagnosed with psoriasis before the index date: 77 (1.7% of the cases) were from the study group and 59 (0.4% of controls) were from the control group. Conditional logistic regression analysis revealed that after adjusting for the patient's monthly income, geographic location, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, obesity, and alcohol abuse/alcohol dependence syndrome status, patients with ED were more likely to have been diagnosed with psoriasis before the index date than controls (odds ratio = 3.85; 95% confidence interval = 2.72–5.44).
Conclusion. This study revealed an association between ED and prior psoriasis even after adjusting for potential confounding factors. The results of this study highlight a need for clinicians dealing with psoriasis patients to be alert to the possible development of ED.
Posted by: Fred - Wed-11-01-2012, 14:43 PM
- No Replies
Patients with psoriasis may have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction. American Journal of Cardiology
The aim of this study was to investigate whether psoriasis is associated with an increased prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) independent of established cardiovascular risk factors in patients undergoing coronary angiography.
A retrospective cohort analysis was performed by linking records of all patients undergoing coronary angiography from 2004 through 2009 with dermatology medical records.
From an overall cohort of 9,473 patients, we identified 204 patients (2.2%) with psoriasis before coronary angiography. Patients with psoriasis had higher body mass index (31.3 ± 8.1 vs 29.3 ± 7.1 kg/m2, p <0.001) but the prevalence of other risk factors was similar. Median duration of psoriasis before cardiac catheterization was 8 years (interquartile range 2 to 24). Patients with psoriasis were more likely to have CAD (84.3% vs 75.7%, p = 0.005) at coronary angiography.
After adjusting for established cardiovascular risk factors, psoriasis was independently associated with presence of angiographically confirmed CAD (adjusted odds ratio 1.8, 95% confidence interval 1.2 to 2.8, p = 0.006). In patients with psoriasis, duration of psoriasis >8 years was also independently associated with angiographically confirmed CAD after adjusting for established cardiovascular risk factors (adjusted odds ratio 3.5, 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 9.6, p = 0.02).
In conclusion, patients with psoriasis and especially those with psoriasis for >8 years have a higher prevalence of CAD than patients without psoriasis undergoing coronary angiography.
Posted by: Fred - Mon-09-01-2012, 20:18 PM
- No Replies
Asia's premier biotechnology Company, Biocon today announced positive results from its Double Blind, Placebo Controlled, Phase 3, TREAT-PLAQ Study with Itolizumab in chronic plaque psoriasis. Itolizumab, the first humanized anti CD-6 monoclonal antibody, successfully met the pre-specified primary endpoint of significant improvement in PASI-75 (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) score after 12 weeks of treatment in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis compared to placebo. It also met multiple secondary endpoints after 12 and 28 weeks of treatment.
This 52 week study conducted in India, had a 12 week placebo controlled phase, 16 week consolidation and 24 week randomized withdrawal phase. It enrolled over 200 patients across placebo and two active treatment regimens. In this 28 week interim analysis, both treatment regimens were statistically significantly better than placebo with the fixed dose regimen of 1.6 mg/kg every two weeks for 12 weeks followed by 1.6 mg/kg every 4 weeks for 16 weeks demonstrating response rate of 36% (p<0.0043)at Week 12 and 46% at Week 28. The response rates for patients with PASI> 20 at baseline was 43% and 54% at Week 12 and 28 respectively. The molecule also exhibited an excellent safety and tolerability profile with very low rates of infection (~10%) in active treatment arms suggesting a favorable risk benefit profile compared to currently available biologic treatments. Biocon plans on presenting the safety and efficacy data from the entire 52 week study at an upcoming scientific meeting.
Expressing her excitement at the outcome of the study Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman & Managing Director, Biocon said, "Itolizumab represents a significant advancement in the treatment of psoriasis and potentially other autoimmune diseases with an excellent risk-benefit profile. This could possibly become the first novel biologic developed and approved from India and is an important milestone for Biocon in its pursuit of affordable innovation. We look forward to taking this molecule to the market across multiple indications with a global partner to ensure that affordable innovation reaches patients worldwide in a timely manner."
"We strongly believe in this molecule and are pleased with the results from the TREAT-PLAQ study. The low opportunistic infection rate despite the study being conducted in India validates the preclinical findings and along with novel mechanism of action opens new treatment paradigms for treatment of psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases. We are looking forward to accelerating clinical development in other autoimmune conditions like MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis)," said Abhijit Barve, M.D., Ph.D., President R&D, Biocon.
Posted by: Fred - Mon-09-01-2012, 13:55 PM
- No Replies
Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that psoriasis is a risk factor for diabetes.
Several previous studies have shown an association between psoriasis and diabetes, but others have not.
"The reasons for this difference are not quite clear but probably due to poor design, inadequate size, the severity of psoriasis, and consequent lack of power," write Juan Cheng (Beijing 302 Hospital, China) and colleagues.
To clarify the issue, Cheng and team analyzed data from 22 published studies performed in the USA (n=4), Europe (n=12), and Asia (n=6), including a total of 3,307,516 participants.
To be included, studies had to have a comparison control group, present original data, and have incidence of diabetes associated with psoriasis as an outcome.
The team calculated that patients with psoriasis had a significant 42% increased risk for developing diabetes overall compared with those without the condition. In total, psoriasis significantly increased the risk for diabetes in 15 of the 22 studies.
The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess study quality, but removal of four "lower quality" studies did not significantly influence the overall result.
Geographic location seemed to affect the association to some degree, with a stronger link observed in the Asian compared with the European and American studies.
Cheng et al note that due to the observational nature of the original studies, potential confounding cannot be excluded as a possible cause of the association. Confounding factors could include smoking, obesity, and presence of the metabolic syndrome, all of which have previously been shown to increase the risk for developing diabetes.
"More research, both epidemiological and mechanistic, is needed to further clarify the association between psoriasis and risk of diabetes,"
Posted by: Fred - Mon-09-01-2012, 13:47 PM
- Replies (1)
LEO Pharma A/S, a global pharmaceutical company specializing in dermatology, has entered into a multi-million dollar collaboration with the US biotech company Virobay Inc. to develop an oral treatment for psoriasis.
The pharmaceutical company LEO Pharma A/S has signed an in-licensing deal with the US biotech company Virobay Inc. to develop an oral treatment for psoriasis. The in-licensing deal concerns an innovative compound which has the potential to be the first on the market with its specific mode of action. The deal involves an upfront payment to Virobay of USD 7m, followed by milestone payments totaling up to USD 300m and tiered royalties.
The compound is currently being tested in preclinical studies. Phase I studies will be launched in Q4 2012, and testing on psoriasis patients is planned for Q1 2013. A limited number of oral psoriasis treatments are already on the market, but they have potential drawbacks in terms of adverse effects and a need for monitoring. A safe and convenient oral treatment thus addresses a significant unmet patient need.
"Virobay's expertise with this compound is outstanding internationally. Combined with LEO Pharma's expertise in dermatology and drug development, we are the perfect match to develop this innovative compound further. Together with Virobay, we pursue new scientific findings and not least, strive to develop a safe, effective and convenient oral treatment," comments Kim Kjøller, Senior Vice President, Global Development, LEO Pharma.
For Virobay, the deal represents a valuable opportunity for the small drug discovery company to work with an industry heavyweight.
"Collaborating with LEO Pharma makes it possible for us to conduct testing in a clinical program with world-leading dermatologists. The compound's possible indications cover a range of dermatological diseases and co-morbidities. However, first and foremost we hope to develop a safe oral treatment for the 125 million or so people worldwide who suffer from psoriasis," states Robert Booth, founder and CEO of Virobay.
More deals are expected in the future
The scientific collaboration with Virobay is the latest milestone in LEO Pharma's ambitious global growth strategy. More acquisitions and in-licensing deals are expected in the future as well as investments in internal drug discovery.
"We are actively seeking out new opportunities to expand our pipeline. Virobay's compound is a strong asset which will drive our innovation forward. The next steps take place in the laboratories where our researchers will work hard together to achieve new innovative solutions to dermatologic diseases," adds Kim Kjøller.
Posted by: Fred - Mon-09-01-2012, 12:30 PM
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Financing will be used to advance Avexxin's lead compound against psoriasis. Proof-of-Concept trial in man is expected to commence late 2012.
Avexxin AS, a company focusing on the development of novel small molecule therapeutics for patients suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions, announces the second closure of a financing A round with existing shareholders enabling the company to take its lead compound against psoriasis through early clinical development.
Besides psoriasis, the company has pre-clinical development programs against other chronic inflammatory conditions.
The company has an active partnering strategy on its compounds.
Avexxin builds its novel therapeutic approach on a deeper understanding of the intracellular mechanisms of chronic inflammatory diseases. Avexxin new small molecule compounds target a novel intervention point, the group IVα phospholipase A2 (GIVαPLA2) enzyme, which regulates cytokine induced activation of the proinflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB).
Mikael Oerum, CEO of Avexxin: "We are pleased that Sarsia Seed and Leiv Eiriksson Invest provides further support for the company to advance its lead compound against psoriasis. We believe that a clinical trial aimed at obtaining Proof-of-Concept in man can start in the second part of 2012."
Farzad Abdi-Dezfuli, PhD, Partner at Sarsia Seed: "We believe the strategy of using potent and selective PLA2 inhibitors against inflammatory disease to be highly promising, and look forward to the entry soon of the company's lead compound into clinical development."
Posted by: Fred - Thu-05-01-2012, 15:21 PM
- Replies (2)
Ensemble Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing EnsemblinsTM, a novel class of small molecule therapeutics with the power of biologics, announced today that the company has identified a series of unique small molecule antagonists of Interleukin-17, a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in multiple inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s and intestinal bowel disease. The Ensemblins represent first-in-class small molecule antagonists of this important, clinically validated protein-protein-interaction target that has proven impervious to traditional small molecule pharmaceutical approaches and has only been addressed to date with protein therapeutics. A small orally active inhibitor of IL-17 would have significant advantages over the current class of clinical stage anti-IL-17 antibody products.
“To our knowledge, no other small molecule antagonists of IL-17 exist in spite of the active efforts of a number of major pharmaceutical companies to find such compounds.” said Dr. Michael D. Taylor, CEO of Ensemble Therapeutics. “The discovery of a series of small molecule macrocycles that exhibit single-digit nanomolar potency, and are selective and druggable with excellent potential for oral administration is a compelling example of the power of Ensemble’s drug discovery platform against a most challenging and valuable target.”
The company expects this rapidly advancing program to produce an orally active development candidate by the end of 2012.
The IL-17 program reflects, in part, Ensemble’s increasing focus on the key therapeutic areas of oncology and immuno-inflammatory diseases for its internal macrocycle drug discovery and development efforts.
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How many people have Psoriasis?
In 2012 there were approximately 36.5 million prevalent cases of psoriasis, and by 2022, GlobalData epidemiologists forecast that this figure will reach approximately 40.93 million.
The condition affects individuals of both sexes and all ethnicities and ages, although there is a higher prevalence of psoriasis in the colder, northern regions of the world.
The prevalence of psoriasis in the central region of Italy is 2.8 times greater than the prevalence in southern Italy.
Caucasians have a higher prevalence of psoriasis compared with African-Americans, but African-Americans in the US tend to suffer from a more severe form of the disease.