Consumer Alert:

Psoriasis drug Raptiva causes rare brain disorder

By Welch, Gold & Siegel – Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., Pennsylvania

As of June 2009, Raptiva was no longer available in the United States yet people who took the medication may still be suffering from the rare brain disorder. People already affected from weakened immune systems have the greatest vulnerability to Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy or PML.

Symptoms of PML include a negative change in vision and personality, clumsiness, and gradual overall weakness.
Raptiva was used to treat psoriasis, a dry scaly skin condition that produces lesions and silver scale-looking plaque in which skin cells reproduce faster than normal skin cells. Psoriasis skin cells reproduce in 2 to 6 days creating a constant and chronic shedding of skin along with intense itching and possible arthritis pain.

Psoriasis is not fatal but Raptiva injection has proved to be.

While psoriasis is painful and unsightly which may cause people to retreat from social situations, the rare brain disorder PML is fatal.

According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, more than 5 million Americans have psoriasis, and spend billions of dollars every year to treat the disease.

Sadly, even modern medicine has not found a cure for psoriasis, but there are treatments to reduce the symptoms, clear up the skin, and drive psoriasis into remission. For some people, remission can last for years. For others, flare-ups occur every few weeks.

FDA approved treatments include topical creams and lotions, lasers that aim ultra-violet rays into the skin, oral medications, and injections or biologics – which should only be used for a limited time because of their serious side effects.

Nobody should die from a chronic but not life threatening skin disorder.

If you have a family member who suffers from PML after taking the psoriasis drug Raptiva, please help them contact Welch, Gold & Siegel, a Pennsylvania personal injury law firm about a possible unsafe drug lawsuit.