Business Insight presented by Arlington Dermatology Skin vs Immune System Disorders Anyone who's experienced a chronic illness knows it well: it is tremendously difficult to live your life knowing your medical problem will never go away. Whether it is arthritis, migraine, or psoriasis, it hurts just to think about it. Unfortunately, we live in the world full of medical problems that seem to come out of nowhere and stay with us permanently. It might be impossible to change it, however, it is possible to control it. Most of the skin disorders can be addressed with a short course of treatment. Often, we remove a mole or a lesion, and it never comes back. Any contact dermatitis can be helped with a prescription steroid for several days and, with avoiding the contact trigger, it will not come back. Unfortunately, many of the diseases exposed through the skin have their origin in our immune system. They might have some genetic background, but often genes mutate, and it is almost impossible to identify if the disease was inherited. Immunology is one of the most studied fields of medicine, but what we know is far from what we want to know. In some cases, science discovered the narrow source of the problems, and, like in psoriasis, we are now much wiser than 10-20 years ago. When I write this, I mean it's very direct as I have studied and developed almost every medication for psoriasis for the last 12- 15 years. Some of the early medications, biologic injections like Amevive, are no longer used. Some other treatments, like UVB, are still common even though they require time and frequent visits. Medical science progressed so much that these days we can have our patients clear of psoriasis receiving as little as 4 injections a year. The list of options is long and depends very much on insurance benefits and individual dispositions. We are currently studying procedures that might predict which biologic injection is the most suitable for which patient. Not everyone likes shots. I can understand that. The current medicine is quickly progressing to identify how to make 'synthetic biologics' and formulate them as pills. Or perhaps use the molecules from injections and re- formulate them into pills. There are many options in clinical studies that do just that. The safe part is that most of them do not start from the very bottom; there are already some molecules like IL17 or IL23 that are effective and work great. Now, the task is how to re-program them into an oral version, so that patients can just pop them daily like they do all other medications. The process is not as simple as it sounds. It is not just about the active ingredients, but also about all other components that make a pill to be a pill and these components often act up in our digestive system. Perfecting pills not to bother your stomach or cause dry mouth is quite a difficult task. But we are getting there and what we currently see and exercise in clinical studies seem to be a good progress. Writing about psoriasis is easy; experiencing psoriasis can be a nightmare. If you need the treatment and education about this annoying inflammatory immune disorder, please call us and come in. Our research team can spend time and provide you with a lot of unique information that will help you understand and decide what and how to move on. Michael Bukhalo, MD Arlington Dermatology 5301 Keystone Court Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 Tel. 847 392 5440 | www.arlingtondermatology.net Business Insight presented by Arlington Dermatology Skin vs Immune System Disorders Anyone who's experienced a chronic illness knows it well : it is tremendously difficult to live your life knowing your medical problem will never go away . Whether it is arthritis , migraine , or psoriasis , it hurts just to think about it . Unfortunately , we live in the world full of medical problems that seem to come out of nowhere and stay with us permanently . It might be impossible to change it , however , it is possible to control it . Most of the skin disorders can be addressed with a short course of treatment . Often , we remove a mole or a lesion , and it never comes back . Any contact dermatitis can be helped with a prescription steroid for several days and , with avoiding the contact trigger , it will not come back . Unfortunately , many of the diseases exposed through the skin have their origin in our immune system . They might have some genetic background , but often genes mutate , and it is almost impossible to identify if the disease was inherited . Immunology is one of the most studied fields of medicine , but what we know is far from what we want to know . In some cases , science discovered the narrow source of the problems , and , like in psoriasis , we are now much wiser than 10-20 years ago . When I write this , I mean it's very direct as I have studied and developed almost every medication for psoriasis for the last 12 15 years . Some of the early medications , biologic injections like Amevive , are no longer used . Some other treatments , like UVB , are still common even though they require time and frequent visits . Medical science progressed so much that these days we can have our patients clear of psoriasis receiving as little as 4 injections a year . The list of options is long and depends very much on insurance benefits and individual dispositions . We are currently studying procedures that might predict which biologic injection is the most suitable for which patient . Not everyone likes shots . I can understand that . The current medicine is quickly progressing to identify how to make ' synthetic biologics ' and formulate them as pills . Or perhaps use the molecules from injections and re formulate them into pills . There are many options in clinical studies that do just that . The safe part is that most of them do not start from the very bottom ; there are already some molecules like IL17 or IL23 that are effective and work great . Now , the task is how to re - program them into an oral version , so that patients can just pop them daily like they do all other medications . The process is not as simple as it sounds . It is not just about the active ingredients , but also about all other components that make a pill to be a pill and these components often act up in our digestive system . Perfecting pills not to bother your stomach or cause dry mouth is quite a difficult task . But we are getting there and what we currently see and exercise in clinical studies seem to be a good progress . Writing about psoriasis is easy ; experiencing psoriasis can be a nightmare . If you need the treatment and education about this annoying inflammatory immune disorder , please call us and come in . Our research team can spend time and provide you with a lot of unique information that will help you understand and decide what and how to move on . Michael Bukhalo , MD Arlington Dermatology 5301 Keystone Court Rolling Meadows , IL 60008 Tel . 847 392 5440 | www.arlingtondermatology.net