Plaque psoriasis affects more than 6 million people in the United States. Multi-talented actress, producer, and entrepreneur La La Anthony sat down with us to speak about teaming up with Amgen, a biopharmaceutical company, in an interactive video to share how plaque psoriasis affects her life.
According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, more than 8 million Americans are affected by psoriasis with 80%- 90% dealing with plaque psoriasis. Plaque psoriasis is defined as raised, inflamed, and scaly patches of skin that can be itchy or painful. It can appear anywhere on the body but often appears on the scalp, knees, elbows, and torso. La La who has dealt with plaque psoriasis for more than a decade is finally speaking up about how it affects her life.
The Knockturnal: If someone never heard of plaque psoriasis, how would you describe that to them?
La La: I would describe it as like itchy patches on your skin and for me it’s like in my scalp, behind my ears, my eyebrows. I could wash my hair and five minutes later it would look like I didn’t even wash my hair.
Anthony mentions that she knew other people dealt with the issue and wanted to empower people to know they’re not alone. She explains that she wanted to do the partnership with Amgen to let people know about finding what works for them. Furthermore, she believes that “You can still walk in confidence, and life doesn’t have to stop” simply because of psoriasis. La La expresses that she hopes by “talking about it people can learn more about it and then figure out what works for them.”
We also spoke with Dr.Meagen McCusker, a board-certified dermatologist to find out more about Otezla, Amgen’s plaque psoriasis treatment from a health perspective. Otezla is for adult patients who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy. It can also be used in children as young as 6 years old who meet specific requirements.
The Knockturnal: What do you think makes Amgen’s treatment stand out from other oral options available for plaque psoriasis?
La La: So what makes it kind of magic is that most of the therapies that we have are approved for moderate to severe diseases, but Amgen’s product is approved for patients with mild disease as well. So it doesn’t limit me in treating a patient more holistically if they have what we would consider a mild disease.
The Knockturnal: How do you determine the difference between eczema and psoriasis?
La La: People who have eczema typically present earlier, sometimes in infancy. It’s associated with allergic conditions like asthma or allergic rhinitis. Eczema tends to be more itchy, not as defined, and can involve the face more. Whereas psoriasis is more defined, doesn’t typically include the face, and presents later (not always) but a general rule.
The Knockturnal: The press release also lists some possible side effects like hypersensitivity, depression, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and drug interactions. In your opinion, do the benefits of this treatment outweigh these potential side effects for patients, and why?
La La: You always have to see how things compare to the placebo group. With depression, patients who suffer from psoriasis have a higher risk already, “there was no major difference between the placebo group and treatment group for depression.” During clinical trials in adult patients 1.3% reported depression compared to 0.4% on placebo. As far as drug interaction, oftentimes the medications don’t interact. Hypersensitivity is relatively low as you don’t encounter it much with oral therapies, but it can still occur. Body weight loss was reported at 5%- 10% in adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis on Otezla and 5% for those on the placebo pill. Body weight loss of less than 10% occurred in 2% of patients treated with Otezla compared to the 1% on the placebo treatment. Nausea and vomiting is the most predictable side effect but are short lived and gone within the first few weeks.