Cream With Ingredients From Fish Can Relieve Psoriasis Symptoms

A new skin cream has shown promising results in the treatment of psoriasis and eczema. The cream contains fish enzymes and gelatine and is under development by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and the University of Bergen, Norway. Enzymes from roeAn important ingredient in the product is the enzyme zonase, which is found in fish eggs. The enzyme can break down dead skin cells without harming living cells. Used in the treatment of psoriasis, this cream helps to dead skin to flake off, while stimulating the growth of new cells. But enzymes need water to function as they should. With typical creams, the moisture evapourates a short time after application to the skin. The challenge for manufacturers is to find a new and better method to bind water to the cream. Dr. Ingvild Haug is a specialist in fish collagen (gelatine) Collagen from fish is built up completely different from collagen from other animals. Dr. Haug has studied how these special properties can be exploited. For example, fish collagen has the unrivalled ability to bind water within a mixture of water and oil. Before, such mixtures needed to include a stabiliser to keep them from separating. Dr. Haug found a method to use fish collagen to do the job. With the support of a skin care company, she has used this quality to improve skin cream. The method is patented, and the product is now undergoing clinical testing at the University Hospital in Linköping, Sweden, to ensure the product will perform as expected. Dr. Haug is working with other application for fish gelatine. This includes finding out if fish gelatine can be used to improve capsules of medicine and food supplements. -This rethinking can provide products that are easier to swallow and that can also hinder regurgitation. Everyone who has taken fish-oil capsules knows what I'm talking about, points out Dr. Haug. Workers with soft handsResearchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, were the first to note the properties of zonase early in the 1980s. Investigation has continued since then with Professor Bernt Walther in the lead. The enzyme is found in fish roe and serves to help the fry escape the egg. As has happened many time before: an accidental discovery in everyday life leads to a new product. The starting point was at a hatchery at a salmon fish farm. All day, workers had their hands in the cold sea water, handling the salmon fry. Usually, such activities would lead to red and chapped skin. But those who worked with the salmon fry had surprisingly soft and supple skin. The Bergen researchers looked into the case and found the enzyme zonase to be the reason.

Benjamin Franklin Suffered From Psoriasis

In his memoirs, Benjamin Franklin wrote of his psoriasis and his problems treating it late in life. He stopped taking pills a doctor had given him because his teeth were loosening and falling out. He found baths and sunlight helpful in controlling it, but never found a cure.
Now, 300 years after Franklin's birth, there's still no cure. Many treatments have harmful side effects. New protein-based injectable medicines can cost up to $25,000 annually, beyond the reach of many patients.

Cause Of Psoriasis

Scientists believe that certain white blood cells called T lymphocytes (T cells) play an important role in psoriasis. "And the disease has a genetic component," says Lindstrom. In about one-third of psoriasis cases, there is a family history of the disease.
T cells circulate throughout the body, orchestrating the immune system's response to foreign invaders like bacteria or viruses. In people with psoriasis, the defective T cells are overactive and migrate to the skin as if to heal a wound or ward off an infection. This process leads to the rapid growth of skin cells, triggering inflammation and the development of lesions.
Both the environment and genetics may play a role in the development of psoriasis. "In genetically predisposed children, psoriasis can be triggered by a strep or other infection," says Lindstrom. That's what happened to author John Updike. After an attack of measles at the age of 6, Updike developed psoriasis "in all its flaming scabbiness from head to toe," as he later described it in his memoir, Self-Consciousness.

Psoriasis Treatments In Clinical Trials

Several Companies Post Positive Results in Clinical Trials:

Efalizumab (Raptiva) Appears Safe for Up to 3 years of Psoriasis ...DG News - 23 hours ago... Efalizumab (Raptiva) appears to be safe for up to 3 years of continuous weekly therapy for chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, researchers reported ... Low-Dose Regimens of Acitretin (Soriatine) Effective in the ... DG News
Nucryst Pharmaceuticals granted new acne patentDrugResearcher.com, France - 22 hours ago... of Nucryst's silver for the treatment of acne, inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, and hyperproliferative skin disorders such as psoriasis. ...
Celgene's psoriasis therapy beats expectations in phase IIPharmaceutical Business Review - Mar 7, 2006... Corporation has reported better than expected phase II data evaluating CC-10004 as a potential oral therapy for patients with severe plaque-type psoriasis. ...
Centocor's psoriasis drug posts positive phase III dataPharmaceutical Business Review - Mar 7, 2006... that treatment with Centocor's Remicade resulted in rapid, significant improvement and long-term response in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. ...
Advitech Announces the Introduction of Dermylex in Toronto and ...CCNMatthews (press release), Canada - 4 hours ago... Laboratories Limited ("Jamieson") to conduct a special product introduction program for Dermylex, its product for the management of mild to moderate psoriasis. ...
Bexarotene Gel 1% Enhances Efficacy of Phototherapy for Psoriasis ...DG News - Mar 6, 2006... with bexarotene gel 1% appears to enhance the efficacy of narrowband ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy with minimal toxicity in patients with plaque psoriasis. ...

Basic Types of Psoriasis

There are five different types of psoriasis. The most common form of psoriasis is called "plaque psoriasis," which is characterized by well-defined patches of red, raised skin. About 80 percent of people with psoriasis have this type. Plaque psoriasis can appear on any skin surface, although the knees, elbows, scalp, trunk and nails are the most common locations. The other types of psoriasis are: Guttate described as small, red, individual drops on the skin. Inverse psoriasis is smooth, dry areas of skin, often in folds or creases, that are red and inflamed but do not have scaling Erythrodermic psoriasis is characterized as periodic, widespread, fiery redness of the skin. Pustular psoriasis which involves either generalized, widespread areas of reddened skin, or localized areas, particularly the hands and feet (palmo-plantar pustular psoriasis).Typically, people have only one form of psoriasis at a time. Sometimes two different types can occur together, one type may change to another type, or one type may become more severe. For example, a trigger may convert plaque psoriasis to pustular.

New Treatments In Psoriasis Therapy

Recent research has shown that calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs), such astacrolimus ointment and pimecrolimus cream, may be effective in treating psoriasis, although they are currently only approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, another chronic skin condition in which the skin becomes itchy, dry and inflamed. TCIs interfere with the activation of T-cells, a type of white blood cell responsible for triggering immune responses that contribute to the development of skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.
"In clinical trials, pimecrolimus and tacrolimus showed promise in treating facial psoriasis and inverse psoriasis, which is characterized by smooth, red lesions in the skin folds," stated Dr. Stein Gold.
"Tacrolimus inthe gel form is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of body psoriasis. Side effects tend to be mild and include minor itching and a sensation of warmth after application." Another new topical medication that has been approved by the FDA to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis is clobetasol propionate spray. In spray form, clobetasol propionate penetrates the skin easily to diminish the psoriasis plaques and minimize inflammation. In a recent study, patients using the clobetasol propionate spray over a four-week period saw a marked decrease in their disease severity, with most patients considering their psoriasis clear or almost clear by week four. In follow-up interviews after the completion of the study, the greatest proportion of patients still considered their psoriasis to be clear or almost clear.
"Patients like the spray because it is easy to use and not as messy as other topical medications," explained Dr. Stein Gold. "That is important because patients who like using a product will be more inclined to consistently use the treatment as directed, which will lead to more rapid results."
Combinations with topical corticosteroids also are effective for the treatment of psoriasis. A combination of calcipotriene and betamethasone dipropionate, a vitamin D analogue and a potent corticosteroid, was recently approved by the FDA in an ointment form for the treatment of psoriasis.
In a recent study of patients using the combination once daily, more than80 percent of patients with mild to localized psoriasis reported reaching a Psoriasis Activity and Severity Index (PASI) score of 50 or better after fourweeks, which means that this measure of psoriasis severity improved by 50 percent from the start of the study. The PASI is the standard measurement tool to determine what percentage of the body is affected by psoriasis and how
severe a patient's psoriasis is at any given time. In addition, many patients with severe psoriasis who participated in the study reported a reduction in PASI score of more than 70 percent.