Includes Appendix, References and Index

Think psoriasis is just a skin disease that can be managed by one of the many
treatment options? If you are saying to yourself why another book on psoriasis, then this book is a must read. Psoriasis affects 7.5 million Americans and
an estimated 2–3 % of the world’s population. While we at the National
Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) have welcomed several therapeutic advances in
the last decade, research still shows nearly 50 % of patients with the disease
are under-treated. Nearly the same percentage reports dissatisfaction, for a
myriad of reasons, with the treatment that they are on.
Psoriasis is a complex, autoimmune disease ranging from mild to
severe – even life threatening. Despite improving research around the disease, clinically speaking, we are unfortunately facing a shortage of welltrained medical dermatologists. Individuals with psoriasis face an
increased risk for cardio-metabolic comorbidities, some cancers, depression, social isolation and often a sense of hopelessness. Advances in
Psoriasis: A Multisystemic Guide, thanks to champions like the authors
Drs. Jeffrey Weinberg and Mark Lebwohl, ensures that you will walk
away with a more comprehensive understanding of this disease. It is my
hope that you will also walk away with a commitment to helping remove
the burden of the disease from your patients.
There are chapters that cover each individual treatment option so that you
best understand when to use topical therapies for a patient and when that
same patient may need to be moved to a biologic or combination therapy.
There are chapters such as Research Pipeline I, II and III that look at the
exciting new therapies that may be coming to market soon. There are chapters
that discuss phototherapy and laser therapy, treatment options the National
Psoriasis Foundation fights to keep available for patients. One of the chapters
is on the new advances in psoriatic arthritis and another on how to manage
pediatric patients.
The NPF is proud to have this book serve as a reference for some of our
patient assistance resources. There are template letters included if you need
assistance in getting your patient on a specific therapy such as phototherapy
or biologics. There is a handy financial assistance resources sheet that has
information and contact numbers for programs to help your patients afford
their treatments. We hope these resources are valuable to you and help
patients get the support they need. There are exciting treatment advances happening in psoriasis and expanding patient education. It is my hope that with Advances in Psoriasis: A
Multisystemic Guide we will see a shift in the number of patients reaching the
appropriate treatment for their disease so that they can lead happy and productive lives.