Otezla, the new drug that has just been approved by the Food and drug administration (FDA) is a tablet that is taken twice a day and helps relieve pain and inflammation caused by psoriasis. Tested in 3 clinical trials on 1493 patients, Otezla would however have two important side effects. It could cause severe weight loss and increase the risk of depression.
Patients treated with this new medicine must therefore be regularly monitored by a doctor.
“Otezla offers an important new treatment option for patients whose symptoms are not improving adequately with their current treatments. In clinical trials, Otezla reduced the redness, thickness and scaling of plaques in patients with psoriasis moderate to severe plaque,” said Dr. M. Shane Chapman, Division Chief of Dermatology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Psoriasis, a shameful disease
the psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that can appear in several forms. The most common being plaque psoriasis. It is characterized by red patches, well limited, thick, covered with whitish scales, which are preferentially located on the scalp, the elbows, the knees and the lumbar region. This repulsive aspect may explain why many French people confuse dirt.
Forced to live with a disease that cannot be cured (but can be treated), the sick also suffer a double penalty. They would have difficulty socializing for fear of being judged as contagious, psychologically weak and even sometimes dirty. They endure daily avoidance in the world of work, public spaces and even experience rejection in the life of a couple and family.
2 million French people are affected by psoriasis. And, nearly 83% of patients hide their illness and 26% say they have experienced at least one episode during which the people around them made a conscious effort not to touch them, according to a survey published by the Association France Psoriasis.
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