Scientists recently discovered a new use for Remicade, the Johnson & Johnson drug often used by rheumatoid arthritis patients: Treating incidents of psoriases ranging from moderate to severe.
A British study found the symptoms of 57 percent of the psoriasis patients who were treated with Remicade versus a placebo improved as much as 90 percent. And the benefit was sustained over as long as 50 weeks. Patients also reported improvements in nail psoriasis, considered by many experts to be a sign of treatment-resistant disease, by those taking Remicade by week 24. And 25 percent of psoriasis patients enjoyed a complete clearing of their skin, versus none in the placebo group.
Sounds awfully extreme to me to use Remicade to clear away psoriasis, especially when it puts patients at risk of developing even worse of medical problems like tuberculosis and lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.
An excellent two-part piece by Dr. Carolyn Dean I posted a year ago provides far better, safer and more natural solutions to tame psoriasis than the toxic Band-Aid that is Remicade:
Forbes.com October 13, 2005