In winter, skin diseases often become more aggressive and annoying, but it is not just the cold that causes the disease. Professor Antonio Costanzo, head of Dermatology at Humanitas, spoke in particular about psoriasis, a skin disorder due to a state of instability in the growth of the epidermis in some parts of the body. It is not a real disease but an anomaly in the growth of the epidermis, which can appear and disappear even spontaneously.
“The winter period is the worst for those suffering from psoriasis – explained Costanzo – the stress of work, but also the food excesses typical of feasts are all elements that activate the inflammatory processes circulating in the body, thus causing a worsening of symptoms and making psoriasis more aggressive. This way, at this time of year, we see a greater number of patients asking for help to keep the disease at bay, which often tends to get worse”.
Dry indoor air and low exposure to sunlight, which is beneficial for psoriasis sufferers, can also contribute to a worsening of the disease.
Expert advices and treatments
“We must do everything possible to strengthen our immune system, for example by doing physical activity regularly, a real panacea for general health – explained the professor -. It is also important not to gain too much weight, to eat well and do everything possible to stem stress.
“Today – continued Costanzo – we have at our disposal innovative treatments more and more able to ensure high effectiveness and safety that last for a long time. There are many different treatments, from topical for mild psoriasis to biological for severe psoriasis, able to keep the disease at bay.
New treatments with biological therapies
“We have reached such an advancement of the therapeutic equipment that we have biological therapies available that can maintain the result of cleaning the skin over time, having a very high safety profile – concluded the professor, who during the interview in Corriere della Sera also commented on the data of a study presented at the Inflammatory Skin Disease Summit, Vienna -. Data from the Eclipse study show that 84.5% of patients treated with guselkumab achieved a significant improvement after 48 weeks of treatment, compared to 70% of patients treated with secukinumab. The point is now to treat properly all patients who can benefit from these therapies: still too many patients with psoriasis, even severe, do not even reach the specialist.
