I just found this forum while browsing reddit and I'm excited to have a group of individuals who help and know what I am going through.

My name is Josh I'm 25 and I have been suffering from psoriasis since the age of 17. It is generally difficult to talk about because it mostly effects my genital region. As of late quarter sized flares have appeared on my lower leg and since the beginning I have had pitted and yellowed nails. Although treatment for those sensitive regions seems to be more difficult.

I have only tried topical solutions like Fluocinonide, Taclonex and over the counter Hydrocortisone 1%. They all seem to work for periods of time but if I slack at all it comes back stronger.

Hard to write this thread without sharing a lengthy health saga. Ill try to be brief...GL

I know intellectually the benfits of biologics. However, I am on call for a lymph node removal, thyroid cancer screening - ongoing...polycyctic ovaries and and bladder nerve conduction issues. Notwithstanding several back surgeries. And an overdo hip replacement.
I have flare up and my face is presenting now as lupus and MS. Wow one big mix.
I had 4 doctors tell me I will have cardio vascular disease.
Ironically, had shortness of breath and chest pain and landed up being screened for blood clot last Friday night in my emergency room.

Bottom line I had a panic attack for fear of using a biologic- I think. I was calm had no idea and I had anxiety.

Apparently you breathe in so much and you get dizzy, shaky and faint and your blood pressure goes up and you feel like you are dying.
I am still on hold for remicade....in the mean time....

I am trying a new version of skin cap Ps Val?, kalawalia?
and maybe as a last resort a Dr. no names mentioned- protocol....

I took 60 blood tests last week for his asessment. My friend who has breast and ovarian cancer genectics. and had near death issues with lymph leaking in her body
... found him, pleaded with me to try it out.
plus the BHIH hormones etc....I m kind burnt on the alternative thing,
but I figured why not she looks fabulous lost 25 pounds.. radiant... at 51 and sufferred....

I also got a virus after giving lots of blood last week....... and that was part of the whole dam nightmare.
It gets better.....I gave the virus to it to my husband, who is on bed rest with his automine disease. (two peas in a dam pod).
Trying to not feel sorry at all. I just got very anxious and it is embarassing; not good at having stiff upper lip - no kidding.
I am not taking xanax or tranquilzers.

I have work to do and this has been quite debilitating on many levels. Making the most of a scary situation that could be worse...trying to not catastrophize....
Ill be in touch
Battling myself

LL

UCB announced today that it intends to submit regulatory applications for Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol) in psoriatic arthritis, by end of 2012.

Top-line results from the RAPID-PsA™ phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol) in patients with adult onset active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) demonstrated a clinically relevant and statistically significant improvement at week 12 in the signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. Initial analyses suggest that no new safety signals were observed in this study and adverse events were consistent with those seen in other trials of certolizumab pegol.

"We are pleased that Cimzia® has the potential to also benefit patients living with psoriatic arthritis and we are currently preparing for submissions to the regulatory authorities later this year," said Professor Dr Iris Loew-Friedrich, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President UCB. "We shall discuss the study results with the regulatory authorities and present them at upcoming major rheumatology congresses."

In this 48 week, multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 3 study, 409 patients were randomized to receive certolizumab pegol (200 mg every two weeks or 400 mg every four weeks) or placebo.

In the European Union, Cimzia® in combination with methotrexate is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe active RA in adult patients inadequately responsive to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including methotrexate. In the U.S., Cimzia® is approved for reducing signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease and maintaining clinical response in adult patients with moderately to severely active disease who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy and for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis.

Source: ucb.com

Hello,

I'm a bit of a newbie, but have had psoriasis (scalp and body) for as long as i can remember, so maybe that makes me more of an oldie?...

Anyway, always been in and out of these forums reading other peoples 'miracle cures' and going off and trying them for myself and nothing happening. have come to the conclusion that different things work for different people. 



But recently (only been 2 weeks now so it is still early days) i started using a new one called Salcura DermaSpray Intensive and the moisturiser that goes with it. Only decided to give it a go cos they give away free samples on their website but i have already seen a massive difference. -still slight redness where a few of my bigger patches were, but its nowhere near as red, raised, itchy or angry-looking as it was. my scalp is starting to feel a lot smoother too -can't feel any big clumps like i could before and i'm noticing less and less flakes.



I don't want to count my chickens before they've hatched but its made such a phenomenal difference already that i cant help but feel really optimistic.



Obviously, i still believe different things work for different people but I thought i'd share this with all of you, in case this one works for you too. Hope it does xx

Anyone else using it or tried it before?

The FDA has approved the addition of a secondary supplier of Methoxsalen USP, an integral component of a treatment for the relief of moderate to severe psoriasis prescribed under the brand name Oxsoralen-Ultra® (methoxsalen) Capsules, USP, 10mg.

"We are pleased to obtain FDA approval of an additional manufacturer of Methoxsalen, the key active ingredient for this important drug," said David Mullarkey, senior vice president and general manager of Valeant Dermatology, a division of Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC. "This approval enables us to ensure a steady supply of Oxsoralen-Ultra and is a key step in restoring the supply of our other Methoxsalen containing drug products."

Patients can obtain Oxsoralen-Ultra® with a prescription from their physician.  Oxsoralen-Ultra, in combination with a special type of phototherapy called PUVA (Psoralen plus UVA light) therapy, has been shown to improve severe, recalcitrant, disabling psoriasis.

Did you know as a member of Psoriasis Club you have a Personal Notepad?

To access your Personal Notepad click "Control Panel" in the green menu bar when logged-in, then scroll down and there it is. Put in your content and click "Update Notepad"

Your Personal Notepad can only be seen by you and is not seen by other members (but please remember it is stored on the forum database) the database is protected, but it wouldn't be wise to include personal information like bank details etc just in case!

You can make changes as and when you like. It's handy for keeping notes about your treatments and what is working, or maybe make a note of your next rendezvous. or just put a note in to remind yourself to buy me cake for my birthday.

What's in your Personal Notepad ?

Hi my daughter is 8 and had psoriaisis since june last year,she went to a dermatoligist in december and had been issued with light treatment 3 times per week since then has palmaplanter pustulor psoriasis on feet and hands,guttate,cronic plaque,scalp, she has it everywere including face etc,light treatment has been working on face i must admit and we were sent back early to the consultant as she was getting more psoriasis etc,he said give her another 4 weeks which 3 more to go and if not cleared putting her on systemics which sounds serious for an 8 year ol.also she has special bath,steroid for face,scalp substance,creams,etc about 7 different products to use to,can anyone give me advice on this i just dont know where to turn or speak with as its worrying me,dont know what else to do for her any help or has anyone been in this situation and do you think lights will clear her in time thankyou to all who will read this post

Hello to everyone - just found this site whilst googling( a dangerous pastime I know )

Have only had my last flare up for 5 months but is already causing me difficulties.

Have palm/sole psoriasis with 3 nails on their way out as I write.

Last had same form over 10 years ago- now wishing I hadn't taken all those years so forgranted!

You would never see this posted in the usa. Might be something for others around the world to look into.I know the esters work for some here.

Suzy



Effectively and without much effort: Ambulatory Phototherapy balneo

A brief assessment: Is Balneo phototherapy for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis

It is a century old experience: Certain climatic conditions
have a beneficial effect on chronic skin diseases. Stays at the Dead Sea, the North Sea or in the mountains are still very popular holiday destinations of human psoriasis. Hospitals in these areas use the therapeutic effect of the combination of swimming and natural ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. Other clinics, these conditions produced synthetically. More in PSO Magazine 6/11


----------------------------
Effectiveness and benefits of drugs

Systemic therapy with fumaric acid esters:
Historical development of a therapy for psoriasis

The therapy with fumaric acid esters in psoriasis has taken for medical science with a unique history. From a single observation was from an initially supported by only a few doctors wave of applications in psoriasis patients treated with preparations in pharmacies. The path to approval and the current state of Germany and a few other countries, licensed therapy describes Ulrich Mrowietz, Kiel, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the DPBS. More in PSO Magazine 6/11
----------------------
Full [/align]Webpage Translated from German to English below

==

The inclusion of balneotherapy phototherapy
in the service catalog of statutory
Health insurance is a major
Success for the dermatology dar. this very
particular form of treatment is a
exclusive power of Dermatologists in
Supply and the availability of psoriasis
to be welcomed.
During the period in which the Balneo phototherapy
was fought, the therapy
of moderate to severe psoriasis
however, experience a minor revolution.
The approval of biologics currently four
(Adalimumab, etanercept, and Infl iximab
Ustekinumab) as a "second-line" therapies *
has achieved considerable success of the therapy
conducted at the patients treated with
the conventional ways not
were adequately treated. The suitability
these new drugs for
continuous long-term therapy is
The new finding contrary to that psoriasis
Today, as a systemic disease
must be considered. Accordingly,
a long-term control of immunologically
mediated inflammation desirable
which not only the skin lesions **
effectively improved, but also some
Concomitant diseases (comorbidity) were positive
can they make will shape.
During this time, under
an intensive care research
also examined which factors in
Therapies related to stressful
are for patients. This could
are well represented, that for a
Therapy required time and effort
the number of doctor visits negative
Infl uence on the health-related quality of life
psoriatic patients have
can.
Thus, should the importance of balneotherapy
Phototherapy for the treatment medium
to severe psoriasis in the light of a
changed situation of the supply
ned redefined.
According to the Scientific Advisory Board
the German Federal psoriasis e.V.
suitable before the Balneo phototherapy
particularly for patients, the medical contraindications
for systemic therapy
and have the time and physically
are capable of the frequent gene treatments
perceive the doctor.
With a known, stable course of disease
Phototherapy may also balneotherapy
for the treatment of short bursts of
Psoriasis can be useful.
Fewer indicated (recommended) is the balneotherapy
Phototherapy for patients with a longer-term
Control of inflammation
Psoriasis, require as to the recommendations
the current S3 guideline
for the treatment of psoriasis long term
Treatment with UV light (maintenance therapy)
should not be performed.
In psoriasis patients, the successful under a
and acceptable treatment system
stand should be changed to
Balneotherapy, phototherapy does not occur.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Mrowietz
For the Scientific Advisory Board of DPBS
* "Second line" therapy: A treatment may only
be used if other therapeutic
Options were used, not tolerated
are or are not used individually
can.
Skin lesions ** = diseased skin
A short positioning
Balneotherapy, phototherapy for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis
==

Background:  Severity assessment of patients with psoriasis is a critical issue. Classical clinical assessment has been recently combined with quality of life (QoL) scores, but a number of instruments are used. Moreover, studies have focus on patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.

Objectives:  To compare the characteristics of QoL instruments in patients with the full range of psoriasis severity attending dermatology clinics.

Methods:  Observational, prospective, multicentre study. Patients completed Skindex-29 (anchor) and a second instrument randomly selected from Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI), and Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 (SF-36).

Results:  Demographic data, PASI and BSA were not different between the 3 groups. Skindex showed a weak but significant correlation with clinical severity; only PDI showed similar correlation. PDI, DLQI and SF-36 had substantial floor effect in patients with mild to severe psoriasis. Skindex showed strong correlations with the other 3 QoL instruments. SF-36 was more sensitive that the other instruments in detecting worse QoL in male patients.

Conclusion:  Skindex has better sensitivity to clinical severity with minimal floor effect, and cover the main domains explored by the other 3 QoL instruments in patients with mild to severe psoriasis.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

There are a lot of Psoriasis advice websites on the internet today. Some good, some bad, and some just want to rip you off for your money. But what do you think about the help and information websites that are run by the drug manufacturers? 

I’m not talking about their own sites which tell you about the company and the drugs they make, they are an important part of internet information and are needed.
I’m talking about websites that offer information and advice that give the impression of being independent, but when you look closely at them and dig a little deeper you find they are owned by drug manufacturers.

I’m not saying the information is wrong; In fact a lot of it is good. But would the manufacturer of say Humira recommend you use Dovonex on that information website?
Take for example the biological treatments. This is a huge market and Abbot, Amgen-Pfizer, Janssen , Johnson & Johnson, and Merck & Co are all in competition to promote their product as the best. 

I use Stelara which is manufactured by Janssen, and today I found out that psoriasis360 and livingwellwithpsoriasis are owned and run by Janssen!
I dug a little deeper and found the following

Quote:A Janssen Canada educational campaign around psoriasis goes a step further, offering a list of available treatments, and a dermatology locator that returns only those dermatologists who “agree that they will use biologics” – Janssen markets Stelara, an immunomodulating biologic – and who have voluntarily signed up to be listed on Janssen’s Living Well With Psoriasis website, according to Spilios Asimakopoulos, director of marketing technology, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Canada.

Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANAC) announced today positive preliminary results from two safety studies of AN2728 - a maximal use systemic exposure (MUSE) study in psoriatic patients and a local tolerability study. The results of these two studies demonstrate that AN2728 Ointment, 2% appears to be safe and well-tolerated when applied to very large body surface areas and that it is well-tolerated when applied to areas of sensitive skin. AN2728 has previously demonstrated safety and efficacy in multiple Phase 1 and 2 trials for mild-to-moderate psoriasis and most recently in a Phase 2a study in atopic dermatitis.

"These data confirm the safety of AN2728 and the potential for it to be used on areas of the body that are susceptible to side effects from steroids and tend to be sensitive to irritation from vitamin D analogs," said David Perry, CEO of Anacor Pharmaceuticals. "All of the clinical studies we have done to date on AN2728 in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis support that it could be a potentially safe and effective topical treatment for patients who suffer from mild-to-moderate psoriasis or atopic dermatitis."

AN2728 MUSE Study

The MUSE study was designed to obtain a full pharmacokinetic profile in psoriatic patients under Phase 3 maximal use conditions. The multi-center, open label study enrolled 33 patients with extensive psoriasis with a mean involvement of 38% of total body surface area. Patients applied AN2728 Ointment, 2% twice daily for eight days. No serious adverse events were reported and no subjects discontinued early from the study. Application of AN2728 Ointment, 2% on larger body surface areas resulted in higher plasma exposure levels but did not correlate with greater adverse events.

AN2728 Local Tolerability Study

The local tolerability study was designed to examine the potential irritancy of AN2728 Ointment, 2% when applied to sensitive skin areas such as the face, skin folds (groin, armpits), genitals, etc. This single-center, double-blind, vehicle-controlled study randomized 32 adult healthy volunteers (3:1) to receive AN2728 Ointment, 2% or Ointment vehicle. Subjects applied study drug as instructed twice daily for 21 days to sensitive skin areas. At each of seven visits, each tolerability parameter was graded on a scale of 0 (none) to 3 (severe) in intervals of 0.5. Overall, almost 99% of the nearly 8,700 tolerability measurements were scored as 0 (none). None of the treated anatomic areas appeared to be particularly sensitive to irritation by the study drug or vehicle. No serious adverse events were observed in the trial. Adverse events occurred at a low rate and were generally mild.

Updated Results from Phase 2a Study of AN2728 and AN2898 in Atopic Dermatitis

On December 12, 2011, Anacor announced preliminary results of a Phase 2a study of AN2728 and AN2898 in atopic dermatitis, a chronic rash characterized by inflammation and itching. The final audited data demonstrate a slight improvement in the AN2728 treatment group, while the results for AN2898 did not change. The primary endpoint for both compounds was successfully achieved after 28 days of twice-daily treatment. In the final analysis, 68% of AN2728-treated lesions showed greater improvement in Atopic Dermatitis Severity Index (ADSI) score versus 20% for vehicle (P = 0.02) and 71% of AN2898-treated lesions showed greater improvement in ADSI score versus 14% for vehicle (P = 0.01). There were no severe adverse events reported that were considered related to either study drug.

In addition, lesions treated with AN2728 showed a 66% mean improvement in ADSI score at day 28 compared to 39% mean improvement in ADSI score for lesions treated with vehicle (P < 0.01). Lesions treated with AN2898 showed a 68% mean improvement in ADSI score at day 28 compared to 45% mean improvement in ADSI score for lesions treated with vehicle (P = 0.02).

Finally, the proportion of lesions achieving total or partial clearance (ADSI score ≤ 2.0) at day 28 was 52% for lesions treated with AN2728 compared to 16% for lesions treated with vehicle and 48% for lesions treated with AN2898 compared to 33% for lesions treated with vehicle.

In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled, bilateral comparison study, 46 patients with mild-to-moderate dermatitis were randomized (1:1) to receive either AN2728 Ointment, 2% vs. Ointment vehicle or AN2898 Ointment, 1% vs. Ointment vehicle, applied twice daily to two similar target lesions on the trunk or extremities for six weeks. Lesion severity was measured by the ADSI score which is the sum of the severity scores of five clinical features (erythema, pruritus, exudation, excoriation and lichenification) from 0 (none) to 3 (severe) for each feature, for a total score of 0 to 15.

AN2728 Regulatory Update

Anacor requested a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Phase 3 trial design of AN2728 in psoriasis and has reached concurrence on the major parameters of the Phase 3 trial design.

AN2728 Development Plan Update

Given the safety profile exhibited by AN2728 in 13 clinical studies, the positive outcome from the atopic dermatitis trial, and the large unmet medical need in atopic dermatitis relative to psoriasis, Anacor intends to focus its AN2728 development activities on atopic dermatitis in 2012 and will defer the start of the Phase 3 trial in psoriasis. Anacor will provide more specific information on these activities in a future communication.

Source: anacor.com

Results from a large study carried out in US women suggest that people with psoriasis have increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE).

"Recently there has been considerable interest in whether systemic inflammation is a risk factor for VTE, as inflammation is associated with a procoagulant state," explain Pamela Lutsey (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis) and colleagues in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

This interest extends to investigations into associations between VTE risk and medical conditions characterized by chronic systemic inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

In the present study, Lutsey and team used data from the Iowa Women's Health Study to investigate whether psoriasis in particular is associated with an elevated risk for incident VTE.

The analysis included data from 38,608 women, aged a mean of 68.1 years at baseline, who were followed-up for a median of 11.3 years.

During the follow-up period, 859 (2.2%) women developed psoriasis. Women who developed psoriasis were more likely to be young, highly educated, be smokers, have higher body mass index (BMI), be diabetic, and be using hormone therapy than women who did not develop the condition.

There were 1825 VTE events recorded during the course of the study, 37 of which were preceded by a diagnosis of psoriasis.

Age-adjusted multivariate analysis showed that women who developed psoriasis had a 40% increased risk for VTE compared with those who did not. Additional adjustment for education, smoking status, BMI, diabetes, and hormone use attenuated the risk by just 1%.

The researchers say that their findings are in line with those of other recent studies, which have suggested that psoriasis is associated with an increased risk for VTE.

However, the current results extend previous work because they controlled for lifestyle and anthropometrics, and included outpatient psoriasis cases, they add.

Lutsey et al say that while their findings contribute to ongoing discussions about whether chronic systemic inflammation causes VTE, they are probably of little clinical impact.

"Given the modest hazard ratio and relatively low incidence of VTE, a diagnosis of psoriasis would not justify special VTE prevention," they write.

Furthermore, since individuals with moderate and severe psoriasis have an increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, they may already be targeted for cardiopreventive therapies, such as weight loss and statins, which may also lower VTE risk, the team concludes.

Source: medwire-news.md

Hi,
I was going to add a poll to a post but it doesn't work for me.
I see the add a poll checkbox,but no place to go further.
No biggie but wanted to let ya know.

Suzy

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

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.

Went to the rheum Tuesday,

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.

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.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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

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.

Source: liu.se