2023-10-27 05:54:13
The skin of a man with psoriasis ©BelgaImage
The psoriasis, this chronic skin disease which generally results in the appearance of plaques, can exert mental pressure on sufferers, many of whom say they experience stigma. However, there is hope for these patients thanks to biotherapies, which succeed in making almost all the symptoms disappear, Hugues Fierens, dermatologist at the Saint-Jean Clinic in Brussels, explains to Belga.
A disease with multiple consequences
On the occasion of World Day of psoriasis, on October 29, the Psoriasis-Contact patients’ association launched a series of podcasts entitled “Let’s talk about it”, featuring testimonials from patients about their illness. The disease affects nearly 400,000 people in Belgium, 20% of whom have a severe form of the pathology. This chronic autoimmune disease causes chronic inflammation, mainly affecting the skin but it can also extend to the joints. Skin cells renew themselves too quickly, leading to red, often scaly patches on the body.
“It is an autoimmune disease that has a genetic substrate. But that doesn’t mean that if mom or dad has it, I’m going to get it. But often there are cases in the family“, explains Dr. Fierens. Stress, alcohol, weight gain or even a sedentary lifestyle can constitute aggravating factors of the disease, as with any inflammatory condition, he specifies. They are, however, not the cause of psoriasis.
Beyond its physical manifestation, this disease also has impacts on mental health, while according to a study by the International Federation of Associations of Patients with psoriasis (IFPA), almost half (48%) of people living with psoriasis suffer from anxiety. Twelve percent of Europeans affected by this disease also suffer from depression. Still according to this study, four out of five patients report an impact of the disease on their relationships and the same proportion experiences stigma, isolation and a negative self-image. Thus, in the series of podcasts launched by the Belgian association, three patients testify to the effects of the disease on their mental health.
“It’s a bit of a mourning process, the mourning of a part of yourself, of having skin one day that will be clear and will have no plaques. It’s a long process that takes time…“, explains Elisabeth, 28 years old. Ludovic, aged 42, evokes the effects of psoriasis about his sexuality, “we are ashamed to wear this skin and show it“, he says. “We often see in films people who are uncomfortable with their bodies and who, when having sex, dim the lights to total darkness. I got to this point, that is to say, to turn off the light so that no one could see my body.“.
A formidably effective biotherapy
However, there is hope for these patients because, if we cannot speak of healing of the psoriasis, great advances have been made over the last five or ten years to treat the symptoms, even giving rise to hope that this chronic disease could perhaps one day be cured. These advances have been made possible thanks to biotherapy or targeted therapy, a concept better known in oncology but which has also been developed for inflammatory diseases, explains Hugues Fierens.
These treatments, which precisely target the “molecules having a major role in the development of the pathology“, can significantly reduce symptoms while having few side effects, explains the dermatologist. “In severe cases, 90 to even 100% of the disease can be resolved, with symptoms almost disappearing.“, underlines Dr Fierens. psoriasis East “bleached“, that is to say that the plaques disappear, but biotherapies also make it possible to prevent or treat rheumatological symptoms.
Furthermore, it has become apparent over the past year that these therapies can also influence the progression of the disease, having an effectiveness longer than the period of drug administration. This progress has only been observed in a small group of patients but it gives hope to Hugues Fierens, who believes that “we can no longer say that we can never cure” the psoriasis.
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