Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis is a disease that affects about one fifth of the people suffering from a skin ailment called psoriasis.  To truly understand what psoriatic arthritis means, you need to understand what psoriasis is. 

It’s a disease that affects the skin and joints and often appears in “plaques” or red, scaly patches that are elevated above the normal skin level.

Psoriatic arthritis affects a portion of the people suffering from psoriasis.  Studies have shown that psoriatic arthritis most commonly affects patients with the tissue type called HLA-B27.  If you are familiar with treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, then you probably have a good idea of the treatments for psoriatic arthritis since many of them are similar.

The sad truth is that the majority of patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis develop severe nail problems.  A characteristic of psoriatic arthritis is nail legions where nails become severely damaged, pitted, or sometimes lost entirely. 

Psoriatic arthritis affects people of all ages, both children and adults. It’s no respecter of gender and seems to equally affect both men and women.  It usually sets in about a decade after a person experiences the early stages of psoriasis.  In rare cases, the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis can actually appear before the skin conditions appear.   

It is especially important to seek medical attention if you think you may be suffering from psoriatic arthritis since it can lead to other problems like tendonitis and dactilytis. 
Your doctor will decide on the best means of treating your condition.  Common methods for treatment of psoriatic arthritis include anti-inflammatory medications and joint injections.  In recent years, DNA technology has been an agent in the treatment of this disease.  However, since this is a relatively new and experimental treatment method, some of the side effects are still unclear.  For this reason, DNA technology is reserved for the most severe, extreme cases.