Treat Psoriasis Naturally

According to an article in the American Journal of Therapeutics (March/April 2006, Volume 13, No. 2, p. 121-126), a natural preparation from a plant holds promise for psoriasis sufferers.
Steve Bernstein and other researchers from the Dermatology and Cosmetic Center in Rochester, New York conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study using a proprietary topical cream prepared with Mahonia aquifolium.
This plant, also known as the barberry, Oregon grape, or berberis, grows wild in North and South American and Europe. It was initially used in American folk medicine as an oral medication for inflammatory skin diesases including psoriasis and syphilis.
Of the 200 psoriasis patients enrolled in the trial, 97 completed the 12-week course and 74 completed the same regimen using a placebo cream.
Bernstein and his colleagues traced a statistically significant improvement of the signs and symptoms of moderate plaque psoriasis compared with patients receiving placebo. The medication was well tolerated when applied to the affected area twice a day for twelve weeks. No significant side effects were reported by either the active or control group.
The researchers concluded that the cream containing Mahonia aquifolium extract is a safe and effective treatment for mild to moderate psoriasis.

Psoriasis Information

Psoriasis is a persistent skin condition characterized by red, thickened areas of skin and abundant silvery scaling.
It is an inflammatory skin disease caused by overactive white blood cells, which concentrate in the skin and cause the skin cells to grow too rapidly. This rapid growth shows on the surface as a red, scaly rash.

Plaque-type psoriasis is usually on elbows, knees and the lower back. The scalp is frequently involved, but psoriasis can occur on any surface of the skin including nails. Some patients develop blisters on their skin in the affected areas, and this can be very painful.
The rash of psoriasis can itch, but often it does not have symptoms. Most patients with psoriasis are embarrassed by its appearance, and they dress to hide it from others. There is a significant psychological impact of the disease as it sometimes prevents people from being hired for jobs, and it can limit social activities because other people think psoriasis patients are contagious.

Psoriasis is a common skin disorder affecting two out of every 100 Americans (4 to 5 million people). A person of any race or age can develop psoriasis, but most patients develop it between the ages of 15 and 35.
It does run in families and tends to be more severe in patients with a family history of psoriasis. Severity of disease can vary widely.
Some people get slightly dry skin on their elbows and knees while others can have most of their body surface covered. Psoriasis is not just a skin disease, though.
About 10 to 30 percent of patients with psoriasis on their skin will also have psoriatic arthritis (usually hands, feet, wrists, ankles or lower back).
Psoriatic arthritis can lead to destruction and deformity of joints if left untreated. Some patients develop the arthritis before they have any skin involvement, but most have the skin rash first.

Although there is no cure for psoriasis, there are several good treatments.
For mild cases prescription creams and lotions containing cortisone, calcipotriene, retinoic acid or salicylic acid can be helpful.
There are several systemic psoriasis treatments (shots and pills) which suppress the overactive white blood cells causing the disease.
In addition, ultraviolet light therapy under the direction of a dermatologist can be very effective treatment. Treatments are tailored to meet the needs of individual patients.

Can You Rely On The Results Of Psoriasis Clinical Trials?

In a revealing look at the impact of funding on medical research, a new study found that clinical trials funded by drug companies and other for-profit entities were more likely to report positive findings than similar trials funded by nonprofit groups.
Trials that were jointly funded by for-profit and non-profit organizations had positive findings that fell about midway between the rates observed for either extreme.
"I'm not surprised that that is the case," said Adil Shamoo, a professor of biochemistry and bioethics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and co-founder of Citizens for Responsible Care and Research, which lobbies for the rights of patients and clinical trial participants.
Shamoo was not involved in the study, which was led by researchers at Harvard Medical School and appears in the May 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association'.
A study published earlier this year found that industry is paying for more and more medical research, with a full half of studies now funded solely by the private sector.
And according to background information in this article, surveys of randomized trials conducted in the 1990s found that for-profit trials were more likely to report positive findings. Those surveys raised questions about the design and conduct of industry-funded clinical trials. They resulted in recommendations for ways to improve academic oversight of industry-sponsored research and to make sure that all clinical trials are registered and published.
It has not been clear, however, if this emerging recognition has led to any improvements.
To see if anything had changed, the study authors reviewed 324 trials involving cardiovascular medicines published between January 1, 2000, and July 30, 2005, in three top medical journals: JAMA, The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine' .
Twenty-one of the studies cited no funding source at all.
Of the 104 funded solely by nonprofits, 49 percent reported evidence favoring the newer treatment while 51 percent favored the existing standard of care or showed no difference between the two.
Of the 137 trials funded solely by for-profit entities, more than two-thirds (67.2 percent) favored the newer treatment.
There were 62 jointly funded trials, of which 56.5 percent favored the newer treatment.
Among 205 randomized trials evaluating new drugs, 39.5 percent of nonprofits, 54.4 percent of jointly funded trials, and 65.5 percent of for-profit trials leaned towards newer treatments, the researchers found.
Of 39 randomized trials looking at cardiovascular devices, 50 percent of nonprofit trials, 69.2 percent of jointly funded trials, and 82.4 percent of for-profit trials favored newer devices.
Regardless of the funding source, trials which used surrogate endpoints tended to report more positive findings (67 percent) than those using clinical endpoints (54.1 percent). A surrogate endpoint measures an outcome that is predictive of a clinical endpoint. So, for example, a clinical endpoint could be a heart attack, while a surrogate endpoint might be a certain blood marker that reflects a high risk for heart attack.
In response to the study, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) issued a statement Tuesday saying, "The JAMA paper ... is informative and supports the fact that America's pharmaceutical research companies conduct top-quality, cutting-edge research on life-saving medicines so that patients can lead longer, healthier lives."
PhRMA Senior Vice President Caroline Loew added in the statement, "To help ensure quality, informative and reliable conclusions of a particular clinical trial, PhRMA member companies conduct carefully structured clinical trials at multiple locations -- to reduce the likelihood of possible single investigator bias -- and routinely have a large numbers of patients involved with such trials."
Some experts believe that study design is a main reason for such biases. "The outcome can be tremendously influenced literally by the A-to-Z of a clinical trial, by the type of question, the design of experiment, the type and characteristics of the human subjects selected, how you massage the data and analyze it, and where and what portion you publish," Shamoo said. "There are literally about 15 or 20 steps that can influence any experiment, not just a clinical trial."
The authors speculated that other factors might explain their findings. For example, negative findings are unlikely to be followed up with additional studies. Positive trials, on the other hand, are much more likely to get industry funding for continued study.
The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration also requires that any positive finding be replicated in subsequent trials, which may also help explain the findings.
Regardless of the cause, Shamoo said there's no one simple answer to the problem. Possible solutions include having multiple sources conducting similar trials, acknowledging apparent bias.
"The solution is multifaceted," he said. "As usual, there is no simple, black-and-white answer."

Psoriasis - How To Tell If You Have It

Psoriasis is a chronic scaling skin. It may range from just a few spots anywhere on the body to large areas of involvement. It is not contagious or spread able from one part of the body to another or from one person to another. There is no blood test to diagnose psoriasis. The diagnosis is made by observation and examination of the skin. Sometimes microscopic examination of the skin (biopsy) is helpful where the changes are not typical or characteristic. The exact cause of psoriasis is unknown, but hereditary and genetic factors are important. Psoriasis runs in families. This does not mean, however, that every child of a parent with psoriasis will develop psoriasis, but it is common that somewhere down the line psoriasis will appear in families. Psoriasis is not caused by allergies, infections, dietary deficiencies or excesses, or nervous tension.

Isotechnika Signs Topical Psoriasis Deal

Isotechnika has signed an option agreement with Cellgate giving Isotechnika the option to obtain an exclusive license to develop Cellgate's technology for the topical delivery of ISA247 in patients with mild to moderate psoriasis.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cellgate will perform studies to evaluate the feasibility of using its technology to topically deliver ISA247. These studies will commence over the next few months and are expected to be completed over the course of one year.
In exchange for this work, Isotechnika will pay Cellgate a total of $500,000, with $200,000 paid upfront and the remainder at predetermined time points. Upon successful completion of the studies, Isotechnika has the option to license the technology from Cellgate to further develop and commercialize conjugates for topical delivery of ISA247.
"The opportunity to collaborate with Cellgate is very worthwhile," noted Dr Randall Yatscoff, Isotechnika's president and CEO. "If successful, this could allow us to expand our drug's use beyond the moderate and severe forms of psoriasis currently being tested with systemic ISA247 into the milder cases of psoriasis."

By Helen Marshall