Psoriasis Cure Now Reacts To JAMA Study Suggesting Psoriasis/Heart Attack Link

Main Category: Eczema / Psoriasis
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 11 Oct 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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"Psoriasis Cure Now," a nonprofit patient advocacy group, reacted today to a new study published in the October 11 issue of the prestigious medical journal JAMA.� The study, by Joel M. Gelfand, MD, and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, found an association between psoriasis and increased risk of a heart attack, particularly for younger patients with severe psoriasis.

� "This study is of great concern and it underscores why we believe the National Institutes of Health should be increasing research on psoriasis," said Michael Paranzino, president of Psoriasis Cure Now.� "Unlocking the apparent link between psoriasis and heart attack risk may help us improve treatments both for psoriasis and heart attack prevention.� The 'heartbreak of psoriasis' is supposed to be a tired punch line, not a literal truth."

� The study found that for patients with severe psoriasis under age 50, psoriasis was associated with increased risk of heart attack comparable to the increased risk seen from major cardiac risk factors.� The study also found higher incidence of heart attacks in others with psoriasis as compared to a control group without psoriasis, even after accounting for obvious risk factors including smoking and hypertension.

� "This study suggests that estimates of the impact of psoriasis, both in terms of dollars spent and lives lost, may be undercounting the true burden of this disease," Paranzino added.� "With NIH funding having doubled over the last decade but psoriasis funding down 20%, this study should serve as a wake-up call that increasing psoriasis research funding should become a national priority.� One of the key questions that patients need answered is whether aggressive treatment of psoriasis can reduce this increased heart attack risk."

� Psoriasis is a disease of the immune system that can first strike at any age, causing dry, painful skin lesions that can crack, bleed and itch.� Many people with psoriasis also have psoriatic arthritis, a chronic, progressive and potentially debilitating inflammatory disease that causes joint pain, stiffness and swelling, and can damage bones.� Recent studies have suggested that psoriasis patients are at increased risk of developing lymphoma, and have higher rates of depression and obesity.� According to the NIH, there are as many as 7.5 million Americans with psoriasis.� As yet, there is no cure.

� Psoriasis Cure Now is a nonprofit patient group working to educate the public about the need for increased research on psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, as well as furthering public understanding of the challenges faced by those living with psoriasis.� For more information, visit their website at http://www.psoriasis-cure-now.org .

� Psoriasis Cure Now
P.O. Box 2544
Kensington, MD 20891
http://www.psoriasis-cure-now.org