Gilead's Twice-a-Year HIV Prevention Shot Wins FDA Approval
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Gilead Sciences Inc. said it won US approval for a drug to prevent HIV that only has to be given twice a year, making it a convenient new way to ward off infection in a wide range of people.
In two big international studies published last year, the medicine demonstrated a powerful ability to avert HIV infection. With no vaccine on the horizon, the ultra-long acting shot has been hailed by activists as perhaps the best tool the world has so far to wipe out the virus.
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Health Line
17 minutes ago
- Health Line
Understanding the Different Types of Psoriasis
Key takeaways Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated skin condition. It causes skin cells to build up rapidly, leading to itchy and painful, scaly patches. Psoriasis may also affect joints and other organ systems. Symptoms vary depending on skin tone and the type of psoriasis; patches may appear red on light skin, salmon-colored on medium skin, and violet or brown on darker skin. Joint pain and swelling may occur in certain types of psoriasis. While there is no cure, treatments like topical creams, light therapy, and oral medications can help relieve and manage symptoms, with the approach varying based on the type and severity of psoriasis. Psoriasis typically affects the skin, causing skin cells to build up faster than usual. It causes your skin to develop scaly patches that can be itchy and painful. It can also affect other organ systems, especially the joints. Psoriasis tends to appear pink or red on people with light or fair skin tones, with silvery-white scales. On medium skin tones, it can appear salmon-colored with silvery-white scales. On darker skin tones, psoriasis can look violet, brown, or reddish brown, often with light-colored or grayish-colored plaques. There's limited research and information about managing and diagnosing psoriasis in people of color. A 2014 study found the prevalence of psoriasis among all adults ages 20 and older to be 3.2%, with the rates varying by race and ethnicity: White: 3.6% Black/African American: 1.9% Hispanic: 1.6% These numbers may not tell the entire story, as people of color may be disproportionately undertreated and misdiagnosed. This is because psoriasis isn't always recognized on skin of color. What are the symptoms of psoriasis? The most common symptoms of psoriasis include: skin patches and scales that vary in color based on skin tone: red skin patches on light skin tones salmon-colored and silvery-white on medium skin tones violet, dark brown, or gray on darker skin tones scaly skin itchy skin joint swelling, stiffness, or pain, which are associated with psoriatic arthritis The symptoms of psoriasis also vary based on the type of psoriasis you have. There are eight types of psoriasis: plaque guttate inverse pustular erythrodermic psoriatic arthritis nail scalp Psoriasis isn't contagious, regardless of type. Psoriasis can also lead to mental stress, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Depression is also common in people who have psoriasis. Other diseases have also been linked with psoriasis, such as: Crohn's disease celiac disease metabolic syndrome cardiovascular disease There are also subcategories of psoriasis types. These appear differently depending on the location of the body. Psoriasis patches on darker skin tones may also be more widespread, which can make it difficult to diagnose. Plaque psoriasis Plaque psoriasis, or psoriasis vulgaris, is the most common form of psoriasis. An estimated 80–90% of people diagnosed with psoriasis have plaque psoriasis. This type is characterized by thick red or purplish patches of skin, often with silvery-white or gray scales. These patches often appear on your elbows, knees, lower back, or scalp. Patches are usually 1 to 10 centimeters wide but can also be larger and cover more of your body. If you scratch at the scales, the symptoms will often get worse. Treatments As a way to ease discomfort, a doctor may recommend applying moisturizers to keep the skin from becoming too dry or irritated. These moisturizers include over-the-counter (OTC) cortisone creams or an ointment-based moisturizer. A doctor may also work to identify your unique psoriasis triggers, including stress or lack of sleep. Other treatments may include: vitamin D creams, such as calcipotriene (Dovonex) and calcitriol (Rocaltrol), to reduce the rate at which skin cells grow, in combination with topical steroids to reduce inflammation and itching topical retinoids, like tazarotene (Tazorac, Avage), to help reduce inflammation immunosuppressives, such as methotrexate or cyclosporine applications of coal tar, either by cream, oil, or shampoo biologics, a category of anti-inflammatory drugs Medications may differ for guttate or erythrodermic psoriasis. In some cases, you may need light therapy. This involves exposing the skin to both UVA and UVB rays. Sometimes, treatments combine prescription oral medications, light therapies, and prescription ointments to reduce inflammation. With moderate to severe cases, you may be prescribed systemic medication in the form of oral, injectable, or intravenous (IV) medication. Guttate psoriasis Guttate psoriasis appears in small red spots on lighter skin tones. In darker skin tones, these spots may appear violet or brown. Guttate is the second most common psoriasis type, affecting around 8% of people with psoriasis. Most of the time, it starts during childhood or young adulthood. The spots are small, separate, and drop-shaped. They often appear on the torso and limbs, but they can also appear on your face and scalp. Spots are usually not as thick as plaque psoriasis, but they can develop into plaque psoriasis over time. Guttate psoriasis usually begins after certain triggers. Triggers may include: strep throat stress skin injury infection medication Treatments To treat guttate psoriasis, a doctor may prescribe steroid creams, light therapy, and oral medications. Determining the underlying cause of the infection can also help clear guttate psoriasis. If a bacterial infection is the cause, antibiotics may help. Flexural or inverse psoriasis Flexural or inverse psoriasis often appears in skinfolds, such as under the breasts, in the armpits, or around the groin. This type of psoriasis appears red or purple and is often shiny and smooth. The sweat and moisture from skinfolds keep this form of psoriasis from shedding skin scales. Sometimes, it's misdiagnosed as a fungal or bacterial infection. The skin-on-skin contact can make inverse psoriasis very uncomfortable. Most people with inverse psoriasis also have a different form of psoriasis in other places on their body. Treatments The treatments for inverse psoriasis are similar to plaque psoriasis treatments. They can include: topical steroid creams nonsteroidal drugs such as phosphodiesterase (PDE)-4 inhibitor light therapy oral medications biologics, which are available via injection or IV infusion A doctor may prescribe a lower-potency steroid cream to prevent your skin from thinning too much. You may also benefit from taking or applying medications that reduce yeast or bacteria growth. Pustular psoriasis Pustular psoriasis may be severe at times. This form of psoriasis may develop quickly in the form of many white pustules surrounded by red or darkened skin. Pustular psoriasis may affect isolated areas of your body, like your hands and feet, or cover most of the skin's surface. These pustules can also join together and form scaling. However, if it affects all areas of the body — such as the Von Zumbusch subtype — it can be life threatening because it has severe systemic effects. Some people experience cyclic periods of pustules and remission. While the pus is not infectious, this condition can cause flu-like symptoms such as: fever chills rapid pulse muscle weakness loss of appetite There are three kinds of pustular psoriasis: von Zumbusch palmoplantar pustulosis acropustulosis Each of the three forms of pustular psoriasis may have different symptoms and severity. Treatments Treatment may include OTC or prescription corticosteroid creams, oral medications, or light therapy. Biologics may also be recommended. Identifying and treating the underlying cause may also help reduce reoccurrence of pustular psoriasis. Erythrodermic psoriasis Erythrodermic psoriasis, or exfoliative psoriasis, is a rare type of psoriasis that looks bright red on lighter skin tones or dark purplish in people with darker skin tones. It also involves shedding of the skin. This condition is a medical emergency. You may need to be hospitalized, as your body may not be able to manage your body temperature. This form of psoriasis is widespread, with red or purple skin and silvery scales. It may cover large portions of your body. Exfoliation often occurs in larger pieces than the small scales typical to most psoriasis. Erythrodermic psoriasis can develop from: pustular psoriasis widespread, poorly controlled plaque psoriasis a bad sunburn infection alcohol use disorder significant stress abrupt discontinuation of a systemic psoriasis medication using oral steroids, cyclosporin, or methotrexate Treatments Almost all cases of erythrodermic psoriasis will need to be treated at a hospital. There, you'll receive a combination of therapies, which may include: an application of medicated wet dressings topical steroid applications biologics prescription oral medications Psoriatic arthritis Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a painful and physically limiting condition that affects between 30% and 33% of people with psoriasis. There are five subtypes of PsA with varying symptoms. There's currently no cure for this condition. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease, so it can trigger your body to attack your joints and skin. It can affect many joints and often becomes quite severe in the hands, affecting the nails. Skin symptoms usually appear before joint symptoms. Treatments Treatments for psoriatic arthritis may include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen sodium (Aleve). NSAIDs can help reduce the incidences of swelling and pain associated with psoriatic arthritis. Prescription medications, such as an oral corticosteroid, may also help reduce inflammation that leads to psoriatic arthritis. Prescription topical medications used to treat PsA include: salicylic acid calcipotriene tazarotene A unique category of medications known as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) can help reduce inflammation and joint damage. Biologics, which are a subcategory of DMARDs, may be prescribed to reduce inflammation at a cellular level. Nail psoriasis Although not an official 'type' of psoriasis, nail psoriasis is a common manifestation of psoriasis. It can often be confused with fungal infections and other infections of the nail. Nail psoriasis can cause: nail pitting grooves discoloration loosening or crumbling of your nail thickened skin under your nail colored patches or spots under your nail Sometimes, the nail can even crumble and fall off. There's currently no cure for psoriatic nails, but some treatments may improve their health and appearance. Treatments Treatments for nail psoriasis are like the ones used for plaque psoriasis, but it may take time to see the effects of these treatments as nails grow very slowly. Treatment options include: Scalp psoriasis Scalp psoriasis is another manifestation that's common in people with plaque psoriasis. For some people, it may cause severe dandruff. For others, it can be painful, itchy, and very noticeable at the hairline. Scalp psoriasis can extend to your neck, face, and ears in one large patch or many smaller patches. In some cases, scalp psoriasis can complicate regular hair hygiene. Excessive scratching can cause hair loss and scalp infections. The condition may also cause feelings of social stress. Treatments Topical treatments are most commonly used for scalp psoriasis. They may require an initial 2 months of intensive applications plus permanent, regular maintenance. Treatment options include: medicated shampoos tar preparations topical applications of vitamin D, known as calcipotriene (Dovonex) Light therapy, oral medications, and biologics may also be recommended depending on the responsiveness to treatment. Self-care for psoriasis There's no one cure for any form of psoriasis, but remission and significant healing are possible. Your healthcare team can work with you to create a treatment plan that helps manage your condition. You can also take steps at home to manage psoriasis. Home management includes: practicing relaxation techniques to reduce stress moisturizing dry skin quitting smoking avoiding products that irritate your skin wearing comfortable clothing that doesn't rub the psoriasis eating a nutritious diet Doctors may slowly build up to the most effective treatment plan for your psoriasis symptoms. Most start with a topical or light therapy treatment and only progress to systemic medications if the first line of treatment is unsuccessful. Coping and support Stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions can commonly occur in people with psoriasis. You may benefit from therapy or support groups where you can meet other people experiencing similar issues or concerns. You can also talk with a healthcare professional about seeing a therapist who has experience with psoriasis. They will be able to help identify ways to cope that will work for you. Visit the National Psoriasis Foundation for the latest information on research, events, and programs. Takeaway There are different types of psoriasis that present with different symptoms. While there's currently no cure for psoriasis, treatments can help relieve and manage your symptoms. The type of psoriasis you have and its severity will determine your treatment. Generally speaking, milder cases with smaller psoriasis patches can often be treated topically. More serious cases, with larger patches, may require systemic treatment. Many people believe that psoriasis is contagious, but it will not spread from person to person. A combination of genetics, the environment, and immune system factors are believed to cause psoriasis. Thanks to the advocacy work of dozens of psoriasis activists and organizations, psoriasis is gaining more support and awareness. Talk with a doctor if you believe you have psoriasis. They can provide treatment options and coping methods.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A Mathematician Found a Hidden Pattern That Could Keep Your Biggest Secrets Safe
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Prime numbers are essential for technologies like RSA encryption, which rely on the difficulty of guessing these numerals. A new paper shows that another area of mathematics called integer partition unlocks 'infinitely many new ways' to detect them beyond divisibility. The team said that this breakthrough arrived by using decades-old methods to answer mathematical questions no one else thought to ask. Although prime numbers are a mathematical concept everyone learns about in elementary school, extremely large prime numbers form the backbone of some of the most complex technologies in modern society—especially in the realm of cryptography. But in the burgeoning era of quantum computers, which can solve problems exponentially faster than standard computers (including supercomputers), there's a chance that this kind of previously uncrackable protection could suddenly become very vulnerable. This has pushed mathematicians—including Ken Ono from the University of Virginia—to continue exploring the frontiers of prime numbers. In September of last year, Ono (along with co-authors William Craig and Jan-Willem van Ittersum) published a paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) exploring how to find new prime numbers with a novel approach centered around what are called integer partitions. His groundbreaking work scored him recognition for the Cozzarelli Award for originality and creativity, but to understand it, we'll need to take a few steps back. A prime number (as you likely know) is an integer that is not divisible by any number other than 1 and itself. While there are technically infinite prime numbers, it's difficult to find new ones, as they appear in a number line with no pattern. (Currently, the largest known prime number is more than 41 million digits long.) But Ono and his co-authors discovered a connection between prime numbers and integer partitions, which divvy up numbers into all their possible smaller sums—the number four, for example, can be described as 4, as 3 + 1, as 2 + 2, as 2 + 1 + 1, and as 1 + 1 + 1 + 1. 'The prime numbers, the building blocks of multiplicative number theory, are the solutions of infinitely many special 'Diophantine equations' in well-studied partition functions,' the authors wrote. 'In other words, integer partitions detect the primes in infinitely many natural ways.' Named for the third-century mathematician Diophantus of Alexandria, these equations can be incredibly complex, but if the resulting answer turns out to be true, that means you're working with a prime number. This essentially devises a new way to investigate prime numbers that has never been explored before. 'This paper, as excited as I am about it, represents theoretical math that could've been done decades ago,' Ono said in a video interview accompanying a press statement. 'What I like about our theorem is that if there was a time machine, I could go back to 1950, explain what we done, and it would generate the same level of excitement […] and the experts at that time would understand what we did.' Ono is intimately familiar with the security implications of prime number research, as he serves on the advisory board for the National Security Agency (NSA). Technologies like RSA encryption rely on the difficulty of detecting prime numbers to safeguard the world's most sensitive information, so understanding prime numbers from every conceivable angle will be helpful when quantum computers make ferreting out these unfathomably large numbers easier. Speaking with Scientific American, many mathematicians say this work serves as the foundation of a new way of seeing what other mathematical connections can be made using partition functions. Prime numbers may be elementary, but they remain a fixture of our complex technological future. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
SpaceX launches 75th Falcon 9 rocket this year
Another set of Starlink satellites are now in orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral early Wednesday, carrying 28 satellites into low Earth orbit. This was the 75th Falcon 9 launch of the year. The booster rocket landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean eight minutes after liftoff. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
