An article I wrote several months ago that I would like to share with you. Good Skin Care by Psoriasis and Skin Clinic is committed to offering a compassionate service that strives to understand each patient’s condition and how it has affected their lives personally. They are recognized as world leaders in Complementary Dermatology, with a focus on using medical research complemented with natural treatment protocols. Their first clinic was opened in 1998 in Frankston, Melbourne. Since then the business has expanded rapidly across Australia and New Zealand. Practitioners and staff are carefully selected to ensure they share this vision. Whilst the clinics handle the treatment of various dermatological conditions, their main focus is on psoriasis. This is a skin condition which affects 3.8 percent of the population and causes great discomfort, even hospitalization in some cases. Although there is no known cure, the Good Skin Care ’s treatments can help 90 percent of sufferers achieve long-term remission. They conduct ongoing research and development to ensure their products and treatment are the most effective and cutting-edge. Psoriasis is a genetic condition that stays dormant until it is triggered or provoked. Once it is triggered, it can affect the skin , nails and even the joints as psoriatic arthritis. When the skin does flare up, most people approach the problem by treating the skin. But the skin is only the outward symptom of the condition. The real problem is to establish what causes the skin to flare up. Good Skin Care Clinic has 30 years of research behind them working on identifying what these triggers are and how to treat them. Through his research, Tirant has identified two types of triggers and has divided them into primary and secondary triggers. The primary triggers initiate the flare-ups while the secondary triggers continue to exacerbate the condition. Interestingly, he has found a link between the individual’s blood group and some of these triggers. This plays an important role in the treatment plan. One clue for this is to look at the incidence of psoriasis in different countries. For example, in Germany and many European countries, psoriasis affects as much as eight percent of the population. “In Australia it’s about four percent of population, and in the United States it’s about 3.5 percent. Interestingly in countries like China and Japan, it’s about one and a half and two percent,” says medical researcher , Dr. Michael Tirant (PhD). His research shows that diet and bad nutrition play a part in triggering psoriasis. The high incidence is partially linked with the high red meat content in the diet. Germany and many European countries consume a lot of meat while Japan favours more fish which contain a lot of anti-inflammatories that are beneficial for skin condition. Dr.Tirant has identified a number of ingredients in foods and metabolites of some meats that are pro-inflammatory for the skin condition. It is well documented in the medical literature that Exotoxin C, a type of superantigen, from the bacterial isolate of streptococcal infections, can induce guttate psoriasis, says Tirant and he believes that certain components of some foods can also act as superantigens to exacerbate skin conditions. Founder of the Good Skin Care Clinic, Dr. Tirant’s interest in Complementary Medicine began in the late 70s as he personally witnessed the daily battles of two of his close friends who suffered from psoriasis. They were constantly visiting doctors and their conditions were in a continuous waxing and waning pattern. Although they had many creams, ointments and lotions prescribed to them to provide relief, these topical therapies were not providing them with long term solutions. As a medical research scientist, he began investigating himself the many questions surrounding the condition. What was causing the condition? Why did the skin flare up? How did it flare up? When did it flare up? Since then, Dr. Tirant has researched in depth many of the exacerbating factors. After years of studying, he decided to put the knowledge he had gained to use by opening his own clinic. At first he intended to only treat patients in the local Frankston area, but it soon became clear that the need was far more widespread. Today, they have a Franchise with 22 Clinics operating. Much of his research was done in collaboration with European professors of dermatology. The result of the Vienna Double Blind Clinical Trial was so outstanding (89% success), that the authorities requested that the treatments be immediately tested for steroids and calcipotriol, which are the commonly used topicals for psoriasis treatment. The professors and government authorities were very surprised that the treatments contained no steroids or calcipotriol. There has been a lot of interest in Dr. Tirant’s methods in Europe and they are also currently expanding into China, Middle East, Turkey and Vietnam At Good Skin Care clinics, there are five main stages to their customized approach of targeting various skin conditions. The first objective is to identify the condition being treated. They then establish the primary trigger that initiated the condition. Next, they customized the treatment based on the presenting symptoms and the triggers affecting the patient. “Obviously if the lesions are dry and flaky, we are not going to treat them the same as lesions that are pustular,” says Dr. Tirant. All of their topicals are formulated within the clinics, so they can add the ingredients necessary to treat each patient individually. The patient is also prescribed Proprietary evidence based Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved herbal medications that target specific triggers. “The final part of the treatment plan is to provide the patients with specific information that educates and empowers them to start taking control of their skin condition.” With the ongoing support from the practitioners, patients can learn how best to look after their skin to achieve long term remission. Psoriasis is a very complex condition. It is believed there are at least 11 genes involved. The reason why traditional medicine offerings focus more on treating the symptoms is because it is very difficult to produce one medication that blocks the activity of all these genes. There are many medications used, but they all target one aspect of the condition. “The overall side effects to the patient from targeting many genes together would be so detrimental, it would be worse than having the condition,” says Dr. Tirant. Dr. Tirant believes that the most important thing for having complementary healthcare options readily available is to make sure what is being offered is effective. They have spent years to get independent clinical trials. They have also worked with many dermatologists in Europe, including Professor Jana Hercogová, President of European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. However, he does not yet have that same rapport with dermatologists in Australia, where natural and complementary medicine is mainly viewed as ineffective. Although, the clinics do get many referrals from GPs and hospitals. However, research has shown many times that the Good Skin Care Clinic’s methods are effective. “We have over 90 dermatologists who use our treatments in Europe. It would be great to have that kind of backing in Australia,” says Dr. Tirant. They have also conducted many studies that show that not only are their treatments safe, but that the side effects are minimal. Patients at Good Skin Care Clinics are treated as individuals, receiving a tailored treatment plan to ensure their medications work effectively for the condition. “We do our best to gather as much knowledge in the area as possible,” says Dr. Tirant. In 2009, he was invited to attend the International Congress of Dermatology, which was held in Prague. He was the only non-dermatologist attending. “They are fascinated by my approach because they believe that, although my treatment is complementary, I’m scientific and looking at a bigger picture, especially as I am getting the great results.” A recent survey undertaken by dermatologists of some 29,000 patients worldwide , asking patients to list their concerns regarding their dermatological treatments. In summary, the following are four major concerns raised by the respondents. They wanted assurance that: 1. their treatment is effective, 2. their treatment is safe, 3. their treatment is cost effective, and 4) their condition will not rebound upon cessation of the treatment . The authors concluded that although some current therapies for dermatological conditions satisfy some of the concerns, none of the current therapies satisfy all four concerns raised by the patients. The Good Skin Care’s treatment protocols do, however, unfortunately, it has been difficult spreading this information. Dr. Tirant dreams of the day when both Mainstream Doctors and Complementary Practitioners can work together for a better outcome for all patients. His vision and passion are to make Complementary Medicine, especially Complementary Dermatology, accepted as an effective treatment option, not only by dermatologists and the medical establishment, but by the government also. After all , we also have something good to offer, says Tirant. Looking ahead, what he wants now is for Good Skin Care to educate and empower patients to take control of their skin’s health.
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 03:33:29 +0000
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