Dermatologic Disorders Specialty Pharmacy

A Collection of Chronic Disorders Affecting the Skin

Dermatology is the branch of medicine that deals with skin, mucous membranes, hair and nails. Although relatively straightforward to examine, the skin is the largest organ and has numerous potential abnormalities - there are about 1500 distinct skin diseases and many variants. We are relatively ignorant about the pathogenesis of the majority of these although knowledge is rapidly increasing especially in the fields of immunology, molecular medicine and genetics.

Conditions

Alopecia Areata: Alopecia Areata (AA) is a common autoimmune disease of the skin which causes hair loss on the scalp, face, and other areas of the body. Alopecia areata affects 6.8 million people in the United States and has a lifetime risk of 2.1%. This disease affects people of all ages, sexes, and ethnicities.

Atopic Dermatitis: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is the most common type of eczema. Atopic dermatitis affects nearly 10 million children and nearly 17 million adults in the United States. Atopic Dermatitis is a chronic autoimmune condition that triggers inflammation that causes damage to the skin barrier, resulting in dry, itchy rashes which may be discolored.

Hidradenitis suppurativa: Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) is a chronic skin condition characterized by swollen, painful lesions located in the armpit, groin, anal, and breast regions. The disease is caused by obstruction of hair follicles and secondary infection and inflammation of certain sweat glands. The disease is progressive in nature where boil-like abscesses filled with pus become hard and painful deep-seated clusters of lesions with chronic seepage.

Non-segmental Vitiligo: Non-Segmental Vitiligo is an autoimmune condition in which there are not enough working melanocyte skin cells producing melanin, which is the pigment that colors the skin. This causes white patches to develop on the skin and hair. 

 

Prurigo Nodularis: Prurigo Nodularis (PN) is a rare inflammatory disease of the skin which causes raised, often severely itchy, bumps on the arms, legs, and trunk. There are approximately 88,000 new cases of Prurigo Nodularis each year in the United States. Although this disease can affect people of all ages, sexes, and ethnicities, elderly adults, women, individuals with HIV, and African Americans are affected at higher rates. 

 

Psoriatic Arthritis: Psoriatic arthritis is a form of arthritis that is identified by red patches of skin topped with silvery scales. In most cases, psoriasis is developed first and later the psoriatic arthritis is a secondary diagnosis, however the joint problems can sometimes begin before skin lesions appear. Commonly, the joints that are affected include the hips, knees, and those closest to the tips of the fingers and toes. It resembles rheumatoid arthritis but does not produce the antibodies that are associated with rheumatoid arthritis. An increased risk is associated with those individuals that carry a certain gene (HLA-B27) or have family members that are affected by psoriatic arthritis.

Medications

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