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“Psoriasis Cure Now!” begins web petition to Congress
New DC-based advocacy group launched to promote psoriasis research and access to treatments
(January 26, 2005) Spurred to action by the recent disclosure that federal research on psoriasis has been cut over the last decade while research on other diseases has soared nearly 150%, a new psoriasis patient advocacy group launched today. “Psoriasis Cure Now!” will educate lawmakers, other opinion leaders and the general public about the two most pressing issues facing psoriasis patients: the need for more research, and the importance of patient access to the full range of treatments for the disease.
“Congress will be disturbed to learn that for a full decade, 6.5 million of their constituents with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis have been shortchanged in federally funded research,” said Michael Paranzino, the group’s founder and a psoriasis patient for more than 20 years. “It is unconscionable that psoriasis research has languished throughout the biggest increase in biomedical research funding in world history.”
According to data provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), psoriasis research at its skin institute, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), declined from $4.7 million in 1995 to $4.1 million in 2004, a cut of 13%. In that same period, NIH funding soared 148%, from $11.3 billion to $28 billion. Government funding for psoriasis research now stands at just 77 cents per patient annually, a tiny fraction of the amount spent on many other diseases of comparable severity and impact.
“Today we are launching our web-based petition to Congress, calling on them to increase federal funding for research on psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis,” Paranzino continued. “The 6.5 million Americans with psoriasis need to know that Congress stands with them as they battle this disease and seek better treatments for it.” The citizen petition is at http://www.psorcurenow.org
Psoriasis is an incurable, non-contagious disease of the immune system that can first strike at any age, causing painful skin lesions, and often, arthritic symptoms. A 1999 study found that psoriasis causes reductions in physical and mental functioning comparable to that seen in diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, depression and other diseases. Psoriasis costs the U.S. economy billions annually.
“NIH research has led to dramatic gains on so many fronts,” Paranzino concluded. “It’s time to let psoriasis patients in on the progress.”
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