Managingpsoriasisis a bit of a minefield, and the plethora of treatment options can be overwhelming.
This unpredictable presentation is just one of the reasons psoriasis is oftenharder to diagnosein people of color.
Here we’ve pulled together information about various psoriasis treatments, with a specific focus on biologics and biosimilars.
Biologics for psoriasis may be helpful with symptoms. Here’s what you need to know.
So your doctor might suggest a biologic.
Your doctor should also take yourquality of life into account, Dr. Lipner says.
So, in that case, your doctor may want to treat it more aggressively.
Psoriasis medications
Let’s talk about the most common types of medications used to treat psoriasis.
Buckle up, because there are alot.
What is systemic treatment for psoriasis?
How do biologics work?
But they accomplish that in slightly different ways.
So targeting them is less likely to affect the rest of your body than a TNF-alpha biologic might.
But different interleukins have different jobs and pathways in the body.
Still, no biologic treatment is going to be 100% specific, Dr. Lipner says.
But biologics arent usually combined with each other, Dr. Cheng says.
So why do we need biosimilar drugs?
According to theNational Psoriasis Foundation,8there are several biosimilars currently approved to treat psoriasis.
Different biologics produce noticeable changes at different rates, Dr. Cheng says.
And, of course, every patient is different.
But its a risk thats worth talking over carefully with your doctor.
Theyll likely want to verify youreup-to-date on all of your vaccinationsbefore starting the biologic, Dr. Lipner says.
Attenuated (inactive vaccines), like the flu shot, are safe and recommended, though.
The one exception is the nasal flu vaccine, which is a live vaccine, Dr. Cheng explains.
Unfortunately, we don’t yet know what effect these immunosuppressant drugs have on the vaccine’s efficacy.
Until we have more data,experts suggestcontinuing to be cautious even if you’re fully vaccinated.
