New Treatment for Psoriasis Works Well

December 2, 2002

Mon Dec 2, 7:08 PM ET

MONDAY, Dec. 2 (HealthScoutNews) -- A new therapy that targets immune cells

in the skin may offer another choice for people with psoriasis.

That's the finding of a new study in the January issue of Nature Medicine.

European researchers say this treatment seems to work as well as the current

therapies for psoriasis, which is an autoimmune disease that causes skin

rashes and lesions.

The study included 20 people with moderate to severe psoriasis. They

injected themselves with a compound called interleukin-4, which affects

specific types of immune cells in the skin.

The people in the study were compared to people with psoriasis who received

photochemotherapy, considered to be one of the best current treatments for

psoriasis. Photochemotherapy uses ultraviolet light in combination with the

drug psoralen.

The study found the overall effectiveness of the interleukin-4 was

comparable to that of photochemotherapy.

After their treatment with interleukin-4, 18 people in the study group

remained stable or their psoriasis continued to improve when they received

other treatments that had been ineffective for them previously.

About 7 million Americans have psoriasis, and about a quarter of those have

moderate to severe cases of the disease.

December 5, 2002

Hi a,

I am going to ask my dr about this. My psoriasis and rosascea (sp?) has been

acting up something terrible. My forehead feels like it is on fire and is

rough as sandpaper and my hands are getting bad also. This is the time of

the year for this to act up for me, so I was kind of expecting it. But when

it flares, it is really painful for me. Thanks for the info.

Love and Hugs

Stacey in PA

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