Breakthroughs
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
I USED to know someone working in the Cebu City Postal Office who had psoriasis in the forearms and elbows.
The person responded very well to an aloe vera-based skin gel in a matter of three weeks, if my memory serves me well. But since there are many types of psoriasis, I can only assume it was a case of plaque psoriasis, the most common form of the menace.
Plaque psoriasis appears as red and white scaly patches on the skin. Rapid accumulation gives it a silvery-white appearance. It is usually graded as mild (affecting less than three percent of the body), moderate (affecting three to 10 percent of the body), or severe (affecting more than 10 percent of the body).
Although its cause is yet to be fully understood, many believe that the so-called Koebner response partly triggers it. Koebner response is an irritation resulting from exposure to agents such as molluscum contagiosum (a skin viral infection), warts and toxicodendron dermatitis (an irritation caused by the poison ivy), and injury through self-scratching. Obesity is also a risk factor in the development of psoriasis.
A latest update indicates that in 14 studies from 1994 to 2009, psoriasis shows a serum profile that includes elevated total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and/or triglycerides. In addition, six studies show that high density lipoprotein cholesterol (good cholesterol) decreases.
This may explain why the presence of psoriasis is associated with the traditional risk factors foor cardiovascular disease (CVD)—increased body mass index, elevated blood lipid (hyperlipidemia), hypertension, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cigarette smoking. About 23 studies implicated it myocardial infarction (heart attack), coronary artery disease and stroke.
Common treatments, such as retinoids (topical) and cyclosporine (systemic), can initiate hyperlipidemia, which can develop into CVD in the future. The same is true with methotrexate, another systemic agent.
Moreover, arterial stiffness (an indicator of dysfunction in arterial tissues) increases in the thigh and head-neck arteries in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, at least as seen in two studies.
Because of its superficial location, psoriasis can be underestimated. It looks like a skin irritation gone badly. Its long-term threats cannot be ignored. So a quick response toward its treatment can make a critical difference.
Would you agree on what Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis Imperator Christian Bernard said about treatment? He said: “The prime goal is to alleviate suffering, and not to prolong life. And if your treatment does not alleviate suffering, but only prolongs life, that treatment must be stopped.”
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April 12, 2011.
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