Many people suffer from psoriatic arthritis that causes painful inflammation of the joints and skin problem simultaneously. A new drug has shown some promising results in this field.
A good number of people every year become the victim of psoriasis, but the problem is acute for some persons who possess psoriatic arthritis. Researchers at the Stanford University bring a great breakthrough in this arena. The researchers reveal that this health problem affects almost one person in every 200 people.
According to American College of Rheumatology, psoriatic arthritis is a kind of inflammatory arthritis that is mainly visible in some people who suffer from psoriasis. Most of the time large joints in the body, like the distal joints of the toes and fingers are affected by this specific arthritis. Even it can affect the sacroiliac joints of the pelvis and the back.
Psoriasis is a skin disease that brings white and scaly red patches on the skin. The psoriatic arthritis is considered as chronic arthritis that needs early diagnosis and treatment in order to avoid the joint damage. Patients with this disease face the swollen and painful joints.
Researchers of the Stanford University say psoriatic arthritis is the inflammatory joint disorder that includes an out-of-control immune response. The problem often surfaces after crossing the age of 30, Arizona Daily Star reported. As already said the problem is accompanied by swelling and painful joints with stiffness.
The new research study includes 300 adult persons from ten countries and interestingly all of them were the victims of psoriatic arthritis. They no more experienced the benefits of the biologics. Dr. Mark Genovese, the lead author of the study, reveals that only half of the patients receive better result after taking the TNF inhibitors. Dr. Genovese is the professor at the Stanford University Medical Center.
The research team this time tried one new drug called the Taltz (ixekizumab). The drug is already approved to fight against psoriasis. Now the patients with psoriatic arthritis were assigned with random injections of this new drug Taltz or an inactive placebo.
During a time period of six months, one-third of the psoriatic arthritis patients received Taltz injections in every 2 weeks. The next one-third got the placebo every 2 weeks, and the remaining patients were given a placebo and the Taltz injections alternately. Dr. Genovese said 53 percent patients who were treated with Taltz experienced the better results. They experienced a reduction of 20 percent in the number of swollen and tender joints compared to the 20 percent of those treated with placebo.
The research study is available in The Lancet. Dr. Waseem Mir, a popular rheumatologist at the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, has taken Taltz an important option to treat psoriatic arthritis. He opines that patients who are no more experiencing better results from the other available biologics now can avail Taltz to treat psoriatic arthritis.
Psoriatic arthritis is a very painful disease and proper treatment can protect the joints and relieve the pain. Physical activity also helps to maintain the joint movement. Also, the drug Taltz can be very helpful for the patients who are suffering from this disease.
