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Plaque Psoriasis Treatment

Information gathered from EMedicineHealth, Enbrel, Stelara, WebMD, Medscape, and the National Psoriasis Foundation [email protected]

1.5 million Americans suffer from moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, the most common form of psoriasis. It is a lifelong disease involving the immune system that causes red, scaly patches to appear on the skin. There are different types of psoriasis, including plaque, guttate, inverse, pustular and erythrodermic.

How to Treat Plaque Psoriasis

There is no cure for plaque psoriasis, but there are a variety of treatments that can help clear the skin. Biologics work inside your body to treat psoriasis at the source. ENBREL is a prescription medicine that is self-injected. ENBREL, a biologic, blocks the activity of excess TNF that is associated with plaque psoriasis. This helps slow the growth of skin cells before they cause plaques to appear on the skin. Learn more about results with ENBREL. Because ENBREL works on your immune system, it can lower your ability to fight infections and may raise other safety concerns. If you have any sign of an infection including a fever, cough, flu-like symptoms, or have any open sores on your body, call your doctor. Please see Prescribing Information, Important Safety Information, and Medication Guide for complete details about ENBREL.

Topical medications effective for psoriasis available by prescription include those that contain topical steroids of various potencies, tar, and vitamin D-like molecules (calcipotriol [Taclonex]/calcipotriene [Dovonex]). Ultraviolet light administered under controlled conditions in a physician's office in various wavelengths (narrow-band UVB) with or without supplemental medication (8-methoxypsoralen) (PUVA treatment) is a very effective therapy. Systemic therapies include a vitamin A-like drug, acitretin (Soriatane), short-termcyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune) therapy for severe flares, and methotrexate(Rheumatrex Dose Pack, Trexall). New and very expensive targeted drugs (etanercept[Enbrel], adalimumab [Humira], infliximab[Remicade], ustekinumab [Stelara]) are now available. These newer products have been termed "biologics" because they are produced by new technologies requiring their synthesis by living cells. They are proteins and all currently must be given by injection at various intervals into the subcutaneous tissue by the patient or by intravenous infusion in a medical facility. They are unique in that they have precise targets in the immune system that they block. Since the biologics are very, very specific in their mode of action, they claim to offer increased safety and improved efficacy over older less specific immunosuppressive drugs.

All of these treatments must be continued indefinitely because when they are stopped, the psoriasis will typically return. It has recently been appreciated that the presence of psoriasis is a sign of a systemic inflammatory predisposition. Patient with psoriasis are predisposed to being obese, having diabetes, and having a destructive arthritis and premature cardiovascular disease.

Stelara for Plaque Psoriasis Treatment

STELARA^® is a prescription medicine approved to treat adults 18 years and older with moderate or severe plaque psoriasis that involves large areas or many areas of their body, who may benefit from taking injections or pills (systemic therapy) or phototherapy (treatment using ultraviolet light alone or with pills).

Enbrel for Treating Plaque Psoriasis Closer to the Source

Enbrel^® (etanercept) is a biologic treatment that works on the immune system to block the activity of a protein that can cause symptoms of plaque psoriasis.

How Plaque Psoriasis Can Be Treated

There is no cure for plaque psoriasis, but there are a variety of treatments that can help clear the skin. Biologics work inside your body to treat psoriasis at the source.ENBREL is a prescription medicine that is self-injected. ENBREL, a biologic, blocks the activity of excess TNF that is associated with plaque psoriasis. This helps slow the growth of skin cells before they cause plaques to appear on the skin. Learn more about results with ENBREL. Because ENBREL works on your immune system, it can lower your ability to fight infections and may raise other safety concerns. If you have any sign of an infection including a fever, cough, flu-like symptoms, or have any open sores on your body, call your doctor.

Plaque Psoriasis (psoriasis vulgaris)

Plaque psoriasis (psoriasis vulgaris) is the most prevalent form of the disease. About 80 percent of those who have psoriasis have this type. It is characterized by raised, inflamed, red lesions covered by a silvery white scale. It is typically found on the elbows, knees, scalp and lower back

How many people need Plaque Psoriasis Treatment?

Up to 10-20% of patients with plaque psoriasis also experience psoriatic arthritis. A population-based study by Wilson et al that spanned more than 30 years reported that less than 10% of psoriasis patients develop clinically recognized psoriatic arthritis. The clinical features that were associated with an increased chance of leading to psoriatic arthritis were reported as being scalp lesions, nail dystrophy, and intergluteal or perianal psoriasis

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