Long-acting penicillin for psoriasis?

Many psoriasis patients think of a short-lived strep throat infection often bringing on a flare of psoriasis, frequently of guttate psoriasis (the avalanche of red, tear-drop shaped lesions that can follow a strep infection). But Dr. William Rosenberg, a University of Tennessee Health Science Center professor, thinks a persistent presence of group A streptococcus in the body may be driving the disease.

But unlike many of his colleagues, Rosenberg believes the psoriasis outbreaks aren't caused by an overactive immune system due to an earlier strep infection. He believes psoriasis is a sign someone still carries the germ.

Now, he is enrolling patients in a study to examine the impact on psoriasis of Bicillin L-A, a penicillin that will be injected five times over three months. This study stems from prior research in which he and his colleagues "reported isolating evidence of a strep infection in the thickened, raised patches of skin that characterize the disease. They found the same evidence in the membrane underlying normal skin cells. The study involved healthy [psoriasis] patients."

Psoriasis patients in or near Memphis who may be interested in participating in this study should call the UT Health Science Center's Department of Preventive Medicine at 448-8400 or (800) 916-2606.