Psoriasis is a common but difficult to treat skin disease. Sometimes it has a rather severe clinical course. In addition to cosmetic defects of the skin, psoriasis also causes damage to the joints and internal organs. Traditional treatment is not always effective, but fortunately, new methods of therapy are constantly emerging. Some of them have already managed to prove themselves and are successfully used in the best clinics around the world. Here's who they are:
Local Treatment
Most people have mild psoriasis. It affects no more than 5% of the body surface. In such cases, local treatment is sufficient. This is the more favorable clinical situation, since the preparations used in psoriasis are in most cases toxic, negatively affecting immunity and the function of internal organs.
In the world's most renowned clinics, an individual program for the treatment of the disease is selected, as there are many forms of psoriasis. Therapy is prescribed depending on the severity, localization, duration of the process, and it can include:
• Salicylic acid
• Naftalan
• Ichthyol
• Tar
• Corticosteroids
• Vitamin D analogs
• Calcineurin inhibitors
• Emollients
Medications from the corticosteroid group are prohibited for long-term use, as they can cause skin atrophy. In any case, the doctor chooses the treatment scheme individually. In doing so, he tries to prescribe such a therapy to obtain the maximum result with the minimum negative impact on the patient's skin.
Synthetic analogues of vitamin D are increasingly used in the treatment of psoriatic skin lesions. They suppress proliferative processes in keratinocytes (skin cells that divide intensively in psoriasis, resulting in characteristic plaques). Preparations from this group normalize the state of immunity. They suppress the expression of the tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor and interleukin-2. Vitamin D analogues increase their effectiveness with each subsequent use. With their help, significant results can be achieved just a few days after the start of therapy.
Calcineurin inhibitors are drugs that block T-lymphocyte signal transduction. Their effect is almost the same as that of glucocorticoids. At the same time, they have a better safety profile. Experienced doctors from European clinics often prescribe them to patients in the presence of a rash on the face. This is due to the fact that calcineurin inhibitors are preferable to glucocorticoids because they do not have the side effects characteristic of this group.
Emollients are prescribed to soften the skin. Thanks to these means, it reduces its dryness, as well as its flaking. The hydration of the skin increases. This is especially important during the height of the clinical manifestations of psoriasis and when using ultraviolet light for treatment. Emollients are applied to the skin immediately after showering on damp skin. It has been confirmed that this group of preparations reduces the total duration and cost of treatment, as well as the patient's stay in hospital.
Phototherapy
There are several varieties of phototherapy - treatment of psoriasis using ultraviolet rays. This is a type of topical therapy. Historically, the first method that began to be used was precisely photochemotherapy. A photosensitizer (8-methoxypsoral, etc.) is introduced into the human body, which increases the sensitivity of tissues affected by psoriasis to ultraviolet light. After that, irradiation with the long-wave spectrum of ultraviolet rays is carried out. This procedure inhibits cell proliferation and slows the formation of psoriatic plaques.
Sometimes photosensitizers are not injected, but used in the form of baths. After the substance hits the skin, the patient is moved to an ultraviolet cabin, where he undergoes an irradiation session. This method is just as effective but safer because there is no systemic effect of the photosensitizer on the human body.
Selective phototherapy is another method in which doctors combine long-wave and medium-wave radiation. It is mainly used for psoriasis vulgaris or exudative. The technique can be used at a progressive stage of the disease. Its main advantage is safety - there is no need to take a photosensitizer, which sometimes causes side effects.
System treatment
Systemic therapy is used only as a last resort, as all psoriasis preparations for internal use have a toxic effect on the body. They are difficult for patients to tolerate because they often cause side effects.
The following preparations are used:
• Tablet forms of glucocorticoids
• Methotrexate (given with folic acid to prevent anemia)
• Cyclosporin A - inhibits the activity of T-lymphocytes and reduces their antigenic sensitivity, therefore preventing the progression of psoriasis
• Aciretin - normalizes the processes of proliferation and keratinization of the cells of the epidermis (upper layer of the skin)
Hydro and OPL Therapy
In the treatment of psoriasis, climate treatment methods are widely used, and in recent years, with particular success, oxygen therapy according to the patented method of the Italian Prof. Giovanni Barco from "Istituto Internazionale Barco".
Patients are often treated near the Dead Sea because of the special climatic conditions there:
• Highest atmospheric pressure on Earth
• High temperature
• Lower humidity
• Optimum ratio of long and medium wave rays (due to vapors that filter the sun's rays)
• High concentration of s alt in the water (almost 10 times higher than in the Mediterranean Sea)
The effectiveness of the treatment of psoriasis by climatic conditions is confirmed by studies. As a result of the stay in the resorts of the Dead Sea, for 4 weeks in 60-70% of patients remission occurs, in 20% - a significant improvement. 10% of people report a slight reduction in symptoms.
Very soon, Bulgarians will not have to go all the way to the Dead Sea or to elite clinics around the world, as the revolutionary, efficient and completely harmless OPL therapy with polyatomic oxygen of the "Istituto Internazionale Barco" will be applied in Sofia”, which gives excellent results in over 100 diseases, including difficult-to-treat skin problems.
Like a healing oxygen tsunami, OPL therapy heals and restores every diseased cell, from there – the affected organ or system, and finally – the whole organism. The patented method of the Italian Prof. Giovanni Barco has an anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, antibacterial, healing, immunomodulating and detoxifying effect. In addition, it helps to normalize metabolism and hormonal levels, copes with chronic fatigue syndrome, allergic reactions, consequences of stress, etc.
Venous OPL therapy is used in the treatment of many different diseases, and for prevention, rejuvenation of the body, increasing resistance to aggressive environmental factors and stress. And most importantly, it does not have any side effects like other methods of treating psoriasis and other skin diseases.
Biological treatment
Biological treatment is a relatively new direction in psoriasis therapy. It uses preparations of monoclonal antibodies. This direction is more popular in Western medicine, in clinics in developing countries it is still rarely used. This highly effective therapy is most commonly used for:
• Damage to more than 10% of the body surface
• Resistance to other treatment methods (local treatment, phototherapy)
• Presence of contraindications for the appointment of systemic therapy (biological therapy is more expensive, but it is safer for the patient)
The use of monoclonal antibodies allows to achieve a significant regression of psoriasis within 2-3 months in a minimum of 80% of patients. During this period, a complete remission of the disease occurs in 25-30% of patients.
Psychotropic treatment
In modern clinics, cognitive-behavioral therapy is increasingly applied. It does not reduce the number of psoriatic plaques on the skin, but changes the patient's attitude to his disease, thus making his life more comfortable.
