curable or not?

is psoriasis curable at all? what's the best available cure, if any?

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Psoriasis is generally a disease of the skin and leads to development of patches of well defined scaly, flaky areas on the skin. Areas involved usually are knees, elbows, shin and extensor portions of the body.

It has a genetic and immune component related. It is not contagious.

Lesions in psoriasis are recurrent in quite a few cases and therefore require long term medication.

As a first step, medicated ointments or creams like corticosteroids, cvutamin D analogues, anthralin, etc, called topical treatments, are applied to the skin.

If topical treatment fails to achieve the desired goal then the next step is to expose the skin to ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation or PUVA therapy (PSORALEN +UV-A). This is called phototherapy.

The third step involves the use of medications which are taken by pills or injection including methotrexate, cyclosporine and retinoids.. This approach is called systemic treatment.

Over time, psoriasis can become resistant to a specific therapy. Treatments may be periodically changed to prevent resistance developing.

More information on Psoriasis may be found at :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psoriasis

and

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/psoriasis/article_em.htm

Let us know if you need any further information.

Regards