WeArePsoriasis.org - The Social Support Network for People Living with Psoriasis

ScienceDaily (Dec. 19, 2008) — Patients with the skin disease psoriasis appear more likely to have higher levels of leptin (a hormone produced by fat cells that may contribute to obesity and other metabolic abnormalities) than persons without psoriasis, according to a new report.Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that results in a red, scaly rash. "Associations among psoriasis, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome have been reported," the authors write as background information in the article. "Although the underlying mechanisms may be complex, the 'obesity of psoriasis' is thought to be a key link to cardiovascular diseases,...

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday asked Centocor to respond to a request for additional information before rendering a final decision on the biotechnology company’s new drug application for psoriasis drug Ustekinumab.Centocor, of Horsham, Pa., is seeking approval to market Ustekinumab as a treatment for patients with chronic moderate-to-severe psoriasis.In its “complete response” letter, the FDA asked Centocor for information including a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy to ensure that benefits of the treatment outweigh any risks. The FDA has not requested any new nonclinical or clinical studies evaluating the efficacy or safety of Ustekinumab prior to approval.“We are...

Thu, Sep 18, 2008 CAN THE WAY you chew a raisin affect the way you experience pain? Trials at St James's and AMNCH (Tallaght) Hospitals in Dublin are beginning to look at how "mindfulness meditation" can be used to help people cope with a diverse range of problems including chronic pain, depression, anxiety, cardiac difficulties and even psoriasis. "Mindfulness is a secular form of meditation . . . [and] . . . is useful for anyone going through stress and strain in life, which is probably everybody," explains Dr Noirin Sheahan, who has been practising mindfulness meditation for 20 years. "In 2004, I...

J&J is still awaiting approval from the FDA to sell ustekinumab, the company’s experimental treatment for psoriasis. In the meantime, the results from the first head-to-head study of two biotech drugs for the skin condition showed that ustekinumab appeared superior in a 12-week study to Enbrel from Amgen and Wyeth. Psoriasis lesions on a patient’s arm (Photo: CDC/Dr. N.J. Fiumara) In the 903-patient test, funded by J&J, a significantly greater percentage of patients using ustekinumab showed improvement compared to Enbrel. Ustekinumab inhibits an inflammatory marker called interleukin, whereas Enbrel blocks TNF or tumor necrosis factor. J&J didn’t say much when it found...

A New Jersey arbitrator ruled that a former Amgen sales rep can proceed with a wrongful termination claim against the biotech, a decision that may have implications for other whistleblowers who work in the state and seek to report objectionable practices to their employers but not government agencies. Elena Ferrante, 50, marketed the Enbrel treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis in New Jersey between 2002 and 2005, but claims she was fired in retaliation for not complying with what she calls an unethical and illegal marketing strategy after reporting the practices to her supervisors. Amgen contended Ferrante was required to not only...

The agency is adding labeling changes, including a boxed warning, to highlight the risks of life-threatening infections, including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, that may develop when using the drug, which is approved to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The FDA is also requiring Genentech to formulate a risk mitigation strategy and med guide for patients. The moves comes two weeks after Genentech sent a letter to healthcare professionals about the case of a 70-year-old man who was being treated for psoriasis for more than four years with its med, and developed PML. The FDA’s Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology...

Current research suggests that psychological stress may activate immune cells in your skin, resulting in inflammatory skin disease. Skin provides the first level of defense to infection, serving not only as a physical barrier, but also as a site for white blood cells to attack invading bacteria and viruses. The immune cells in skin can over-react, however, resulting in inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Stress can trigger an outbreak in patients suffering from inflammatory skin conditions. This cross talk between stress perception, which involves the brain, and the skin is mediated the through a brain-skin connection. However, little...