Clearing Up Psoriasis

Jennifer Matthews: There isn't much Robert Flannigan says he doesn't like to read. Robert Flannigan: Now that I'm retired, I retired the other May, I'm going through maybe two books a week. Jennifer Matthews: With retirement, he no longer has to worry about going to work, which was once a difficult task. Robert Flannigan: I couldn't hardly walk because you have these fissures because the skin gets calloused, and it splits. Jennifer Matthews: Robert has been in several clinical trials to treat his psoriasis. The one therapy that worked for him was Raptiva. Robert Flannigan: I probably had about a 75-percent improvement in my skin surface." Jennifer Matthews: Dermatologist Mark Lebwohl says more than half of the 600 patients in a recent trial had a 75 percent improvement in skin scaling, redness, and thickness of lesions. Only 5 percent on placebo had the same result. Doctor Lebwohl says it was a major improvement. Dr. Mark Lebwohl: A patient who achieves 50-percent improvement often is very satisfied. Jennifer Matthews: For those who have progressive psoriasis and don't mind self-injections, Doctor Lebwohl says raptiva is a good option and more are on the way. Dr. Mark Lebwohl: We're delighted that we have quite a number of new drugs coming along that appear to work well for psoriasis but are safer than many of the older drugs that we had. Jennifer Matthews: Robert is now 80 percent clear. Robert Flannigan: People at work, which I didn't notice sometimes my hands were even getting better and my arms. They said, 'Boy, you look really great! Your face is clearing up. Your hands are clearing up. Jennifer Matthews: And he'll need his hands to finish his taxes. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.