Psoriasis is a manifestation of a disorder in the body’s immune system which causes faster skin growth than the normal. As one authority on psoriasis explained, the skin growth process take off at an acceleration of about 7 to 8 times faster than the usual time it takes for the skin to grow. The latter is actually due to the increase in the blood supply that fuels the rapid production of skin cells. As a result, a build-up of dead skin cell layers takes places, causing much discomfort to the afflicted. Psoriasis medications are now imperative.
The psoriasis symptoms in the skin are made visible by silvery colored scales, by red patches that are bright in color, and by painful thickening. All these are brought about by the abnormal function of the body’s immune system which requires psoriasis medications in order to manage the disease.
Treatment of Psoriasis
The general treatment includes high-octane drugs thereby affecting the whole body system:
1. One commonly used psoriasis medication is a chemotherapy drug called methotrexate which is a cancer medication for the lymph system.
2. A different drug that is also frequently used is cyclosporine to contain the immune system. This particular drug is normally administered to transplant patients to avoid organ rejection.
Psoriasis medication experts perceive that patients are unhappy with the treatments available to them. They believe that about half of those afflicted with this disease hopes for more hard-line therapies to afford them longer relief from their psoriasis ailments.
Experts often have to emphasize the fact that the long term use of these high-octane drugs as psoriasis medications can increase cancer risks and may result to adverse effects in the blood pressure, kidney, and liver.
The Discovery of Biologic Drugs
With the recent findings on the causes of psoriasis, the advent of biologic medicines led to a fresh approach in the treatment of psoriasis. New psoriasis medication drugs based on biologic medicines were formulated to directly attack the immune system. This is to arrest the root cause responsible for the symptoms of psoriasis with as much minimal side effects as possible. Currently, new psoriasis medication drugs approved by the FDA include; Humira, Remicade, Enbrel, and Amevive. Except for Amevive, the rest bears FDA approval in treating psoriatic arthritis.
During the Ninth International Psoriasis Symposium, the experts all agree that the use of biologic medications is becoming more prevalent. However, they also agree that there is still need for traditional psoriasis medications like retinoids, cyclosporine, and methotrexate.
In a meeting sponsored by the Skin Disease Education Foundation (SDEF), Dr. Henry Roenigk Jr., director of Arizona Advanced Dermatology still support the use of methotrexate as the best psoriasis medicine. According to the doctor, methotrexate can achieve a PASI 75 level of clearance in 60% of patients that underwent clinical tests. Aside from the fact that methotrexate is largely inexpensive compared to the biologic new psoriasis medication drugs.
Perhaps in due time, biologic new psoriasis medication drugs will be rendered as the best psoriasis medicines over the methotrexate medications.