Treatment of psoriasis

After years of research and years of research, the savior drug appeared for this difficult disease. Good news for Dermatologists and psoriasis patients.

Treatment of psoriasis?

Quy Hoa Central Hospital and Dermatology (Quy Hoa Hospital for short) is one of the few first hospitals in Vietnam to apply a biological drug to treat psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic, non-contagious skin disease that quickly spreads and requires lifelong treatment.

New biological medicine

Mrs. N. (55 years old, in Quy Nhon City) has had psoriasis for more than 30 years, has been treated everywhere but has not recovered. "Doctors said that I had to live with this disease because there was no cure. My illness got worse and worse when the red spots were all over, itchy, and itchy. But the physical pain was not equal to the mental pain. people look at me with different eyes, very afraid to contact "- Mrs. N. said.

More than half a year ago, when she came to treatment at Quy Hoa Hospital, Mrs. N. was injected with a new biological drug. This medicine is imported from abroad and is quite expensive. Within 3 months of injecting the drug, the psoriasis all over Ms. N.'s body disappeared. "I spend up to 100 million VND and also spend more because I have to inject maintenance medicine every month. But I am very confident because now the body has no more psoriasis" - Ms. N. confided.

Similarly, Mr. T. (42 years old, in Phu Cat district) has been suffering with psoriasis for 10 years. "I had to sell my house to have money for medical treatment, because each dose of medicine is 8 million dong and my salary is less than 6 million dong per month. I wish the health insurance would consider the psoriasis patient to be covered in this article. treatment with this new drug "- Mr. T. said.

Resistance to psoriasis cells

Dr. Bui Thi Thanh Huong, deputy head of the department of psoriasis - autoimmune Quy Hoa Hospital, said that the new drug being applied is Swiss bio-drug Secukinumab, treating psoriasis since mid-2017. Previously, the hospital Dermatology HCMC is the first company in the country to use this drug.

Dr. Huong said that for decades of treating psoriasis, she has not seen any medicine that clears the lesions of psoriasis patients like the bio-drug Secukinumab.

"After finishing the loading dose (attack dose) within 1 month, the patient has an 80-90% reduction in the rate of disease. In the next 1-2 months, the traces of the disease are almost clear on the patient. This is the drug. biology, antibody line, attack immediately on target cells causing psoriasis, so the effect is very fast and clear, and the drug is still antibodies so the psoriasis cells cannot develop, so for a short time The patient must be injected with maintenance drugs because if the disease is dropped, it will recur "- Dr. Huong explained.

The disease is difficult to treat and the medicine is too expensive

According to Dr. Huong, this bio-drug line was used by the Ministry of Health of Vietnam in June 2016. Each vial of injection 1 time costs 8 million VND, in the first month attack dose of 2 vials per week. The next month, each injection 1-2 vials depends on the patient's condition. "Thereafter, each month injected 1 vial as recommended, but some of our patients 2-3 months injection 1 bottle maintenance still respond well" - Dr. Huong said.

Also according to Dr. Huong, this drug is applicable to patients with plaque psoriasis, moderate to severe, not suffering from tuberculosis, HIV, cancer, blood disease ... In addition, drug use is also possible. The side effect is that other infections in the patient worsen.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thuong, director of the Central Hospital of Dermatology, said that up to now, more than 10 psoriasis patients of the hospital have used this biological drug for treatment. Mr. Thuong believes that the effectiveness of the drug is good. Currently the US, Japan and many countries are using this drug. This is also the top drug in the treatment of psoriasis today.

However, one of the most difficult problems for patients, leading to a low number of people using this medicine, according to Mr. Thuong, is the high price of the drug.

Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital has treated nearly 100 cases

Dr. Nguyen Trong Hao, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital, said that at present, Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital is the unit that uses this biological drug the most in Vietnam, used to treat nearly 100 cases of scab. candle. This drug has been researched by the manufacturer both in Vietnam and the Dermatology Hospital is one of the four hospitals in the country selected for the manufacturer to research.

So far in Vietnam, this drug is the newest, most effective treatment for patients with psoriasis, negligible side effects, improving the patient's quality of life.

Source: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2040622317738910