New Secret Weapon to Combat Psoriasis

If you have psoriasis, it is imperative that you have your vitamin D levels tested and maintain levels in the therapeutic range of 50-70 ng/ml year-round. Vitamin D is a potent immune modulator, making it very important for the prevention of autoimmune diseases.
According to one study, “vitamin D could have important immunomodulatory effects in psoriasis,” but unfortunately 80 percent of patients in winter, and 50 percent in the summer, were vitamin-D deficient.
Vitamin D is thought to effect psoriasis on multiple levels, including helping to regulate keratinocyte (skin cell) growth and differentiation as well as influence the immune functions of T lymphocytes and other cells. Vitamin D also inhibits cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cell activity, potentially helping to regulate skin cell growth.
In fact, not only are vitamin D derivatives commonly used as a topical treatment for psoriasis, but phototherapy is also a preferred type of treatment.
There is also at least one published report of a specific type of drug-induced psoriasis resolving after high doses of vitamin D3 were given to treat vitamin-D deficiency.
Existing psoriasis drug treatments are risky and expensive. NPR followed one man with psoriasis who has taken multiple prescription drugs for psoriasis, including experimental drugs, and is still suffering.
One of the drugs, Raptiva, was pulled from the market for increasing the risk of deadly brain infections. Another, Stelara, worked, but only for five years when his symptoms returned. In those five years alone, he reported the drug costs added up to $250,000.
One of the most common psoriasis treatments is the drug psoralen combined with UV light exposure (known as PUVA). Psoralen makes your skin more sensitive to UV light, but it is often combined with UVA exposure. UVA rays are the type associated with skin damage, while UVB light causes your skin to produce vitamin D.
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