4 ms·

My mom has this had this disease for at least 40 years and I’d love to find something else for her to try. How can one tell if hers is triggered by this bacteri

My mom has this had this disease for at least 40 years and I’d love to find something else for her to try. How can one tell if hers is triggered by this bacteria? Any tests?

atombender 3y ago
No, there's no such test. Doctors typically test for strep after you've had strep throat, but the test is only positive if you have strep bacteria in the throat. The idea behind the streptococcal hypothesis is that you have a sub-clinical infection. There's a lot of uncertainty about whether strep bacteria merely act as a trigger — confusing the immune system into developing autoimmunity, but then disappearing — or whether bacteria remain in the body, hiding in places like the tonsils and in biofilms and periodically coming out to reinfect the host. About molecular mimicry, Helgi Valdimarsson and his colleagues at the university of Reykjavik has written several papers [1] [2]. The same team has also experimented with whether a tonsillectomy can improve psoriasis, something we actually have a lot of evidence for [3]. The biofilm hypothesis has some clinical evidence (e.g. [4]). Regarding things your mom can do that's actually supported by studies: * A recent study on the probiotic Streptococcus salivarius K12 against S. pyogenes saw incredible (many too incredible) results [5]. * We have some support for other probiotics [6]. * There's decent evidence that large doses (10K–30K IU daily) of vitamin D2 and D3 may help psoriasis [7]. Psoriatics are, pretty consistently, vitamin D-deficient. It's very hard to achieve hypervitaminosis, but it's a good idea to monitor your serum levels while doing this. It's important to take vitamin K2 to increase bioavailability and avoid bone loss. * Psoriasis severity is linked to being overweight, to alcohol consumption, and to smoking. * There's anecdotal evidence that a radical diet change can significantly improve psoriasis; for example, going vegetarian. I don't have any proof, however. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19781993/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19781993/ [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15373909/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15373909/ [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22491250/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22491250/ [4] https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/psoriasis-a-sequela-of-streptococcal-infection-similar-to-acute-rheumaticfever-2327-5073-1000244.pdf https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/psoriasis-a-se... [5] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359856583_Improvement_of_Psoriasis_Using_Oral_Probiotic_Streptococcus_salivarius_K-12_a_Case-Control_24-Month_Longitudinal_Study https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359856583_Improveme... [6] https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3305 https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/000... [7] https://www.hindawi.com/journals/drp/2019/5237642/ https://www.hindawi.com/journals/drp/2019/5237642/
- culopatin 3y ago
  Hey thanks a lot for the detailed response! I’ll read all the research and see what we can find.
davibu 3y ago
There are treatments that are very effective for treating psoriasis, especially those based on monoclonal antibodies. I was treated for atopic dermatitis (which is a similar disease), and I have been in near remission for several years. However, the treatment is very expensive.

My mom has this had this disease for at least 40 years and I’d love to find something else for her to try. How can one tell if hers is triggered by this bacteria? Any tests?

atombender 3y ago

No, there's no such test. Doctors typically test for strep after you've had strep throat, but the test is only positive if you have strep bacteria in the throat. The idea behind the streptococcal hypothesis is that you have a sub-clinical infection. There's a lot of uncertainty about whether strep bacteria merely act as a trigger — confusing the immune system into developing autoimmunity, but then disappearing — or whether bacteria remain in the body, hiding in places like the tonsils and in biofilms and periodically coming out to reinfect the host. About molecular mimicry, Helgi Valdimarsson and his colleagues at the university of Reykjavik has written several papers [1] [2]. The same team has also experimented with whether a tonsillectomy can improve psoriasis, something we actually have a lot of evidence for [3]. The biofilm hypothesis has some clinical evidence (e.g. [4]). Regarding things your mom can do that's actually supported by studies: * A recent study on the probiotic Streptococcus salivarius K12 against S. pyogenes saw incredible (many too incredible) results [5]. * We have some support for other probiotics [6]. * There's decent evidence that large doses (10K–30K IU daily) of vitamin D2 and D3 may help psoriasis [7]. Psoriatics are, pretty consistently, vitamin D-deficient. It's very hard to achieve hypervitaminosis, but it's a good idea to monitor your serum levels while doing this. It's important to take vitamin K2 to increase bioavailability and avoid bone loss. * Psoriasis severity is linked to being overweight, to alcohol consumption, and to smoking. * There's anecdotal evidence that a radical diet change can significantly improve psoriasis; for example, going vegetarian. I don't have any proof, however. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19781993/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19781993/ [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15373909/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15373909/ [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22491250/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22491250/ [4] https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/psoriasis-a-sequela-of-streptococcal-infection-similar-to-acute-rheumaticfever-2327-5073-1000244.pdf https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/psoriasis-a-se... [5] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359856583_Improvement_of_Psoriasis_Using_Oral_Probiotic_Streptococcus_salivarius_K-12_a_Case-Control_24-Month_Longitudinal_Study https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359856583_Improveme... [6] https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3305 https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/000... [7] https://www.hindawi.com/journals/drp/2019/5237642/ https://www.hindawi.com/journals/drp/2019/5237642/

culopatin 3y ago
Hey thanks a lot for the detailed response! I’ll read all the research and see what we can find.

davibu 3y ago

There are treatments that are very effective for treating psoriasis, especially those based on monoclonal antibodies. I was treated for atopic dermatitis (which is a similar disease), and I have been in near remission for several years. However, the treatment is very expensive.