Infectious Disease

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Infectious Disease

U.S. Coronavirus Cases Pass 200,000, as Death Toll Nears 5,000

(HealthDay News) — As the number of U.S. coronavirus cases surged past 200,000 and deaths neared...
Pandemic Adds to Challenge of Caring for Loved One With Dementia

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Annette Adams-Brown’s 87-year-old mother was an avid follower of TV news. Now...
Heart Patients Need to Be Wary of Coronavirus

People with high blood pressure and heart disease may be vulnerable to complications from COVID-19, heart...

More Infectious Disease News

‘Stress Eating’ While Social Distancing? Here’s Tips to Avoid It
Trapped in the house with a cupboard full of food: Social distancing during the...
- Posted April 2, 2020
- 18
An Expert’s Guide to Fighting Coronavirus Stress
The new coronavirus is not just a physical health threat. The stress, anxiety, fear...
- Posted April 2, 2020
- 16
U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Could Reach 240,000, Task Force Warns
(HealthDay News) — The White House coronavirus task force delivered a tough statistic to...
- Posted April 1, 2020
- 15
As Unemployment and COVID-19 Cases Rise, Who Will Pay for Care?
The coronavirus pandemic is spreading across the United States at the same time that...
- Posted April 1, 2020
- 12
Coronavirus Crisis Could Help Trigger Relapse Among Those Fighting Addiction
The social distancing and isolation of the coronavirus pandemic may put people struggling with...
- Posted April 1, 2020
- 15
U.S. Coronavirus Cases Top 163,000; Death Count Set to Surpass China’s Total
(HealthDay News) — As U.S. coronavirus cases surged past 163,000 on Tuesday, Americans were...
- Posted March 31, 2020
- 8
What You Should Know If Your Surgery Has Been Put on Hold
Thousands of elective and semi-elective surgeries — including heart and chest operations — are...
- Posted March 31, 2020
- 22

Are You Living with Psoriasis?

A growing knowledge of the skin disease called psoriasis is leading to greater treatment choices, including personalized therapies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports.

Psoriasis is an immune system disorder that causes overproduction of skin cells, resulting in scaling, pain, swelling, redness and heat. The condition affects about 7.5 million Americans.

“As we better understand the disease, researchers know more about what specific factors to target in order to develop effective treatments,” FDA dermatologist Dr. Melinda McCord said in an agency news release.

There is no cure for psoriasis, so the main goals of treatments are to stop skin cell overproduction and reduce inflammation. Current therapies include medicines applied to the skin (topical), light treatment (phototherapy), or drugs taken by mouth or given by injection.

Doctors used to take a step-by-step approach, starting patients with mild to moderate psoriasis on topical therapy. If that was ineffective, doctors moved on to phototherapy or drug treatment.