ABOUT PSORIASIS

Psoriasis is a non contagious immune system disease that causes skin to become red, scaly and painful, and which can also cause arthritis (called psoriatic arthritis). While most people have mild cases, for millions of others, psoriasis is a daily impediment and can be debilitating. As many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Psoriasis patients face higher rates of depression, diabetes and obesity and people with severe psoriasis are at higher risk of heart attack. While treatments are improving, there is no cure, and no one treatment works for everyone. Some treatments also have serious side effects. And a recent study found that severe psoriasis shortened life by an average of four years. (See www.Four-Years.org for more on that study.)

People with psoriasis also often face social stigma, because psoriasis often impacts appearance. Psoriasis continues to be a punch line for second-rate comedians and writers, even as it has become socially unacceptable to mock people with most other diseases. For that reason, we sometimes call psoriasis the Rodney Dangerfield disease: psoriasis gets no respect.

Research on psoriasis by the federal government has dramatically trailed research on other diseases. While psoriasis funding finally has finally begun to rise, it is still $40 million short of where it would be if it had just increased along with other disease funding over the last 15 years.

A good place to start to get a sense for how dramatically psoriasis can impact lives is by reviewing pictures of psoriasis at Google.

You can also learn more from the Psoriasis Cure Now website. Click here for more on psoriasis, and more on psoriasis treatments.