Moderate or Severe Plaque Psoriasis Treatment - STELARA™

Submitted by site_admin on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 09:57

Please read the
STELARA™ Medication Guide
and discuss it with your doctor.

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What is STELARA™?

STELARA™ is a prescription medicine approved to treat adults 18 years and older with moderate or severe psoriasis that involves large areas or many areas of their body, who may benefit from taking injections or pills (systemic therapy) or phototherapy (treatment using ultraviolet light alone or with pills).

Targeted Action

STELARA™ is a psoriasis treatment that targets your body’s immune system by inhibiting the action of IL-12 and IL-23, two proteins that may be involved in plaque psoriasis. Treatment with STELARA™ can help provide relief from the symptoms associated with psoriatic plaques, such as plaque thickness, scaling and redness. Learn more about how STELARA™ works.

Treatment with 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses

STELARA™ is an injection given under the skin by a healthcare provider as directed by your doctor. Each injection is given using a small needle. STELARA™ is available in 45 mg or 90 mg doses; your doctor will choose the right dose of STELARA™ for you. Make sure you keep all your scheduled follow-up appointments.

The frequency of dosing for STELARA™ is one starter dose, followed by a second starter dose four weeks later. You will then receive a maintenance dose every 12 weeks thereafter. If you have any questions, talk to your doctor about STELARA™.

Important Safety Information

STELARA™ is a prescription medicine that affects your immune system. STELARA™ can increase your chance of having serious side effects including:

Serious Infections
STELARA™ may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. While taking STELARA™, some people have serious infections, which may require hospitalization, including tuberculosis (TB), and infections caused by bacteria, fungi, or viruses.

Your doctor should check you for TB before starting STELARA™ and watch you closely for signs and symptoms of TB during treatment with STELARA™.
If your doctor feels that you are at risk for TB, you may be treated for TB before and during treatment with STELARA™.

You should not start taking STELARA™ if you have any kind of infection unless your doctor says it is okay.

Before starting STELARA™, tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have symptoms of an infection such as:

fever, sweats, or chills
muscle aches
cough
shortness of breath
blood in your phlegm
weight loss
warm, red, or painful skin or sores on your body
diarrhea or stomach pain

burning when you urinate or urinate more often than normal
feel very tired
are being treated for an infection
get a lot of infections or have infections that keep coming back
have TB, or have been in close contact with someone who has TB

After starting STELARA™, call your doctor right away if you have any symptoms of an infection (see above).

STELARA™ can make you more likely to get infections or make an infection that you have worse. People who have a genetic problem where the body does not make any of the proteins interleukin 12 (IL-12) and interleukin 23 (IL-23) are at a higher risk for certain serious infections that can spread throughout the body and cause death. It is not known if people who take STELARA™ will get any of these infections because of the effects of STELARA™ on these proteins.

Cancer
STELARA™ may decrease the activity of your immune system and increase your risk for certain types of cancer. Tell your doctor if you have ever had any type of cancer.

Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS)
RPLS is a rare condition that affects the brain and can cause death. The cause of RPLS is not known. If RPLS is found early and treated, most people recover. Tell your doctor right away if you have any new or worsening medical problems including: headache, seizures, confusion, and vision problems.

Before receiving STELARA™, tell your doctor if you:

have any of the conditions or symptoms listed above for serious infections, cancer, or RPLS.
have recently received or are scheduled to receive an immunization (vaccine). People who take STELARA™ should not receive live vaccines. Tell your doctor if anyone in your house needs a vaccine. The viruses used in some types of vaccines can spread to people with a weakened immune system, and can cause serious problems. You should not receive the BCG vaccine during the one year before taking STELARA™ or one year after you stop taking STELARA™.
Non‐live vaccinations received while taking STELARA™ may not fully protect you from disease.
receive phototherapy for your psoriasis.
have any other medical conditions.
are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if STELARA™ will harm your unborn baby. You and your doctor should decide if you will take STELARA™.
are breast-feeding or plan to breast-feed. It is thought that STELARA™ passes into your breast milk. You should not breast-feed while taking STELARA™ without first talking to your doctor.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

other medicines that affect your immune system
certain medicines that can affect how your liver breaks down other medicines

Common side effects of STELARA™ include: upper respiratory infections, headache, and tiredness.

These are not all of the side effects with STELARA™. Tell your doctor about any side effect that bothers you or does not go away. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please read the STELARA™ Medication Guide and discuss any questions you have with your doctor.

©CENTOCOR ORTHO BIOTECH INC. 2010

This site is published by Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc, which is solely responsible for its contents. It is intended for residents from the United States. Last updated June 22, 2010.

Hi ,

I just found out about this prescription psoriasis treatment called STELARA™ approved to treat adults 18 years and older with moderate or severe psoriasis that involves large areas or many areas of their body, who may benefit from taking injections or pills (systemic therapy) or phototherapy (treatment using ultraviolet light alone or with pills).

Click the link below to learn more now.
STELARAinfo.com

Access this site for more information, including a Medication Guide, Full Prescribing Information and Important Safety Information.

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