An exciting and rapidly advancing area in the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis involves the use of a new class of medications called biologic agents. These are highly targeted medications developed to focus on key steps that lead to the development of psoriasis lesions.
One of the important advances in understanding the causes of psoriasis is that imbalances in the immune system send faulty messages to the skin and cause the raised, red, scaly lesions of psoriasis. The new understandings have allowed biotechnology companies to develop these new biologic drugs to target such abnormalities in the immune system. As with all new therapies, the long-term side effects of these drugs are unknown. You must always keep this in mind. Your doctor will help you understand the risks and benefits of treatment for your particular case. Biologic agents are significantly different from traditional or conventional medications in several ways:
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| Biologics For Psoriasis |
1. Biologics are often naturally occurring substances. Traditional medications are made by mixing chemicals to form liquids or pills. Biologics are different because they are made from living cells, such as viruses, animal cells, and human cells. Biologic drugs have natural counterparts, such as proteins, enzymes, antibodies, or nucleic acids (e.g., DNA). An example of a biologic drug used in another disease is insulin (used to control diabetes).
2. Biologics are so-called "designer" drugs. Traditional drugs have not been specifically developed for the treatment of psoriasis. For example, cyclosporine (Sandimmune) was initially developed as an organ transplantation drug and was found by chance to work for psoriasis while treating patients for a different condition. By contrast, biologic molecules are custom-made, using a technique called recombinant technology, to target key abnormalities in the immune system that result in the red, scaly, raised skin of psoriasis and the tender, swollen joints of psoriatic arthritis. By specifically targeting key steps in the immune system, biologics are able to correct imbalances in the immune system and therefore improve psoriasis. While existing therapies such as cyclosporine and methotrexate (Rheumatrex) also target the immune system, the new therapies are much more specific in correcting the imbalance of the immune response in psoriasis. It is hoped that this specific, targeted action will result in safer and effective new drugs.
3. Biologic drugs are given in a different manner than traditional drugs. Traditional drugs are usually delivered by mouth. Biologic drugs are usually made of proteins and cannot be taken orally because the digestion process would destroy them. Instead, biologics are given by injection under the skin, into the muscle or by intravenous infusion.
4. Biologic drugs may be more effective than traditional drugs. Recent research has shown that certain biologic drugs (adalimumab, infliximab) were more effective than methotrexate in a short-term randomized controlled study.
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| Biologics For Psoriasis |
5. Biologic drugs are very expensive. Biologic drugs are complicated molecules that are difficult to make. The agents go through extensive testing to prove they are safe and effective. Partly for these reasons, biologic drugs tend to be costly. To find out more, you can check out Biologics For Psoriasis.