Psoriasis is a common, chronic disease caused due to hyperactive action of the immune system. It causes the skin to become dry and develop red, flaky patches which are itchy and painful. It is often accompanied by painful and swelled joints. Such a condition is called psoriatic arthritis.
Although the disease is incurable, there are many topical and systemic medical treatments available for this disease. But many times, these treatments either do not work on the patient, or can cause severe side effects. At times, these medical treatments cannot be used by the patients at all due to other medical conditions. In this scenario, biologics have come as a new era of treatment for psoriasis.
What are Biologics?
Biologics are drugs that are prepared in laboratories using living cells. The living cells are converted into proteins which then work as a drug. The biologics do not attack the whole immune system, but they block the part of the immune system that is working abnormally and causing the increased cell growth. This way the whole cause of the disease is controlled. The patients not only get relieved from the symptoms, but they are also able to fight and eliminate the causes.
How are Biologics Used?
There are many biologics available that can be used by your doctor. Every biologic works differently, and it has to be determined which will work the best for you. These are given as shots or by IV infusion. The shots can be injected by the patient himself, or by a medical practitioner or any other family member of the patient. The IV infusion has to be carried out in a doctor’s clinic or infusion center, where the biologic will be given to you through a drip.
There are many FDA approved biologics such as Abatacept, Adalimubab, Brodalumab (Siliq), Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia),Etanercept (Enbrel), Etanercept-szzs (Erelzi), Guselkumab (Tremfya), Infliximab (Remicade), Ixekizumab (Taltz), Secukinumab (Cosentyx), Ustekinumab (Stelara), which have helped in significant improvement of symptoms of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. If at any time one biologic does not work for the patient, the doctor can use another biologic.
However, biologics are not safe for everyone. They attack on your immune system and can lead to other infections. A lot of caution has to be taken before putting a patient on biologics. We take all the preventive measures. We check you for every possible infection and run you through many tests to check for possibility of tuberculosis or cancer. Only after being sure, we recommend you the treatment that is best for you and will cause minimal side effects. We also keep a close watch while you are on biologics, so that we can control the situation if any side effects occur. We treat you only in a way that is best for you and will give you guaranteed results.
Biologics are an effective treatment and have worked for more than 75% of the people using them. And with us, you can be sure about the positive results. So, if no other psoriasis treatment is working for you, its time you start considering a biologic treatment and book an appointment soon!