Here it is folks! The document we've been waiting for! Get your printers at the ready, because you are going to want to print this one off for your doctors.
Many, many thanks to fellow blogger Tommy, who has always been ahead of the curve with TSW news, as she tells us the latest information from Japan, which is way ahead of the West in recognising and treating TSW. Japan is home to the Sato doctors and Dr Fukaya, who are renowned experts, having treated many thousands of patients with TSW. Tommy has helped bridge the gap by translating and linking to many important Japanese documents and websites about TSW and I consider her blog one of the most important TSW resources available.
Today, she provided a link to a brand new document about TSW which has been written by the Sato doctors and Dr Fukaya. It explains TSW simply and also has photos of healing, as well as guidelines for treatement. As the NEA is mentioned in the document, I am hoping that this is going to be utilised by the NEA task force on Topical Steroid Addiction. This gives me great hope as to the outcome of the task force, as the document provides definitive evidence that TSW is real. I also liked the fact that the document includes pictures of the "red sleeve", one of the defining signs of steroid addicted skin.
The article is fascinating, but also surprising. It challenged many of my perceptions about TSW and may not be without controversy in the TSW community. For example, the doctors suggest systemic (oral) steroids as a treatment for TSW. They also suggest that steroid addicted people may only make up 12% of the eczema community and they base this figure on verifiable studies. It is also interesting that the tone of the document is not anti-steroid in itself, as the doctors state that topical steroids can be a useful treatment for eczema when used properly and short-term in non-addicted patients. Lots of food for discussion and debate then!
In my view, the article has positives and negatives, but mostly positive. It shows that TSA is real and provides photographic evidence, so refutes the argument that the ITSAN people are a bunch of crazies. It also shows that skin can return to NORMAL after stopping steroids. Hurray! On the negative side, I think that naysayers might latch on to the 12% figure and argue that TSA is rare. We will have to wait and see.
I'd love to know what my blog readers think of the article, both the positives and negatives, so please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom.
3 comments:
thanks for sharing :) otherwise i may not have found it.
I think the only reason 15% is listed is because there were no other studies to help draw a number and they needed to come up with SOMETHING. they do say in the paper that the other 80% could be addicted but they don't know
I agree Wynter. I just worry that some people will quote the 12% as some kind of proof that TSW in uncommon. Hopefully that won't happen and I'm optimistic about the NEA task force findings too. It will make a HUGE difference for us to be acknowledged by such a respected organisation,
...also, if you are interested in articles and documents, check out the document section in the itsan forum, George B just posted a massive list of scholarly articles to peruse.
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