Health Boards
Sat-24-04-2021, 19:45 PM
Well... how funny.. I have sent my question on coal tar to the National Psoriasis Foundation. I did that on the fourth of march, with an expectation ... low, and I forgot about it.
But a few days ago I received an answer... how sweet.
I have been assigned a Patient Navigator called ******, well read the following.
So concluding... there is a lot of belief when it comes to coal tar.. and the guess is that might even suppress DNA synthesis, which I assume is very advanced, but again it is a guess.
I have looked into the research ****** is mentioning. The conclusions of the research is:
So... there are thousands of ingredients and they focussed on one of the thousands (might be the essential one of course). I bet you can get this polycyclic aryl hydrocarbons out of the coal tar and put in in a cream to test that hypotheses, but I cannot find that they really did that. And they stay with a hypothesis in the end.
And they state that further research is necessary. So they don’t know.
So... no conclusion. I works, but we don't know why.
At this moment I get these crazy thoughts, about which idiot with psoriasis has been thinking in the past: “Come on... I have this garbage, I think it is coal tar. Oh... wait, lets put it on my psoriasis, who knows what happens? Hey, that is fun ... it stinks but it works.. lets tell my doctor. “.
Following this thought, I am thinking of trying peanut butter on my psoriasis, oh and perhaps mmm maybe chocolate paste.. if it doesn’t work, we still can have fun with it
Edit by Fred: Removed name of person mentioned.
But a few days ago I received an answer... how sweet.
I have been assigned a Patient Navigator called ******, well read the following.
Quote:
My name is *******, and I will be your Patient Navigator. I can help you learn more about psoriatic disease treatments, connect you to others living with psoriasis, and much more.
I apologize for the delay in responding to your email. I was looking for some additional research on this topic. Here is what I found:
Unfortunately, we do not know the exact mechanism of coal tar—it was discovered to be an effective treatment option through trial and error.
Researchers believe that the “active” or “working” ingredient in coal tar works to suppress DNA synthesis of specific genes that code for proteins involved in the immune response, thereby inhibiting increased skin cell production that results in the thick, plaque formations of psoriasis. Apart from just blocking the formation of plaques tar also works to break down existing plaques.
Thus, tar treats psoriasis by helping to slow the rapid growth of skin cells and restore the skin’s appearance. In addition, it can help reduce the inflammation, itching, and scaling of psoriasis.
The higher the concentration of tar, the more potent the product.
If you would like to learn more, this research study titled, “Review of the mechanism of action of coal tar in psoriasis” goes more into depth on this topic.
It is important to note that coal tar alone might not be enough to treat your psoriasis. As it is applied directly onto the skin, it is not as successful in treating the systemic inflammation that is present through out the body. This systemic inflammation is necessary to treat as it can lead to other related health conditions (comorbidities) such as psoriatic arthritis, and cardiovascular disease.
So concluding... there is a lot of belief when it comes to coal tar.. and the guess is that might even suppress DNA synthesis, which I assume is very advanced, but again it is a guess.
I have looked into the research ****** is mentioning. The conclusions of the research is:
Quote:Results: Crude coal tar consists of thousands of ingredients, many of which are unidentified. Of these ingredients, the most research has gone into analyzing polycyclic aryl hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are thought to be the most likely component of crude coal tar that leads to its effects in psoriasis. Of the aryl hydrocarbons, carbazole has been the most well studied in psoriasis and is hypothesized as being responsible for the treatment efficacy of crude coal tar.
Conclusions: Polycyclic aryl hydrocarbons, and specifically carbazole, are thought to be the mechanism by which crude coal tar has its effect in psoriasis. However, further research is warranted to fully characterize the mechanism of action of crude coal tar, with the potential to create new therapies for psoriasis.
So... there are thousands of ingredients and they focussed on one of the thousands (might be the essential one of course). I bet you can get this polycyclic aryl hydrocarbons out of the coal tar and put in in a cream to test that hypotheses, but I cannot find that they really did that. And they stay with a hypothesis in the end.
And they state that further research is necessary. So they don’t know.
So... no conclusion. I works, but we don't know why.
At this moment I get these crazy thoughts, about which idiot with psoriasis has been thinking in the past: “Come on... I have this garbage, I think it is coal tar. Oh... wait, lets put it on my psoriasis, who knows what happens? Hey, that is fun ... it stinks but it works.. lets tell my doctor. “.
Following this thought, I am thinking of trying peanut butter on my psoriasis, oh and perhaps mmm maybe chocolate paste.. if it doesn’t work, we still can have fun with it
Edit by Fred: Removed name of person mentioned.
