Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis occurs in approximately 30% of people who have psoriasis. It is is more common in patients with psoriasis vulgaris, and men are just as likely as women to get psoriatic arthritis.

About Psoriatic Arthritis - The Basics

What Is Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis is an inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis. The arthritis presents with pain, swelling and stiffness which is worse at rest and improves with activity...

Who Gets Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis affects men and women equally, with a peak age of onset in the mid thirties. It may, however, affect children and the elderly...

How Often Does Psoriatic Arthritis Occur
The exact frequency of psoriatic arthritis is unknown. Estimates of psoriatic arthritis in the general population have varied from 0.04% in the Faroe Island to 0.1% at the Mayo Clinic...

What Causes Psoriatic Arthritis
It is not yet known what causes psoriatic arthritis. However, hereditary factors, environmental factors and immunological factors play a role...

What Else Looks Like Psoriatic Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Reiter’s Arthritis...

OTC Treatment for Psoriatic Arthritis

When Should I See A Doctor
Depending on your pre-exising conditions and the symptoms you are exhibiting, you should see a doctor specific to that condition to determine if you have psoriatic arthritis before beginning on a regime...

Joint Care for Psoriatic Arthritis
The goal of joint care is prevent further trauma to the joints. This involves avoiding situations where heavy lifting is involved, where undue stress is applied...

OTC - General Advice
It is best to avoid taking over the counter medications without consulting with one’s doctor. While many of the non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs...

Psoriatic Arthritis Medical Treatment

The Objective of Therapy
Early treatment should provide control of inflammation – control of pain, swelling and stiffness, and help prevent development of joint deformity and damage. Both skin and joint manifestations need attention...

Methotrexate
Methotrexate has been used for the treatment of cancer for many years. It was found to be effective in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in the 1960s...

Sulfasalazine
Sulfasalazine is the only drug that was developed specifically for arthritis and combines a sulfa drug with acetylsalicylic acid. Sulfasalazine is a favorite drug for inflammatory arthritis in Europe, and has been used for rheumatoid arthritis since the 1960s...

Leflunomide
Leflunomide was initially developed for use in the treatment of cancer and has been used successfully in rheumatoid arthritis for which it has been approved. Leflunomide was only recently studied in psoriatic arthritis, and prove to be efficacious...

Cyclosporin A
Cyclosporin A has been used for the past 25 years to avoid organ rejections in patients receiving transplants. It has been shown to work well for skin psoriasis, and also helps the arthritis...

Azathioprine
Azathioprine is also an immunosuppressive agent used in the tranplantation program. It has been used in a number of inflammatory forms of arthritis for the past 4 decades with success...

Immunobiologics
Immunological mechanisms are important in the development and perpetuation of psoriatic arthritis. Thus it is reasonable to consider that anti-TNF agents would control the signs and symptoms of the disease and prevent progression of damage...

Other Treatments
Other treatments that are used for psoriatic arthritis include Gold, Antimalarial medications, Topical Treatments, Physio, Joint replacements...

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