Biologics and Psoriasis: One Life Changed

It got to a point where I was hurting so much that I hardly walked around it all. I would either be in bed or sit in a chair all day. And it's just, you know, very itchy, very painful.

It's common. Three million Americans suffer from psoriasis. At its most extreme, it's unbearably painful and debilitating with devastating complications. But now, remarkable medical discoveries have renewed hope of a symptom-free life, all part of an exciting new path to a breakthrough.

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BECKY IRELAND: Well, the first time I had any skin issues, my hands got real dry. So I put lotion on then. And then I noticed the tips were peeling.

Becky Ireland's psoriasis didn't develop until her late 30s, but quickly her condition worsened. In a year or two, I was covered from head to toe. It was in my scalp, so it was choking out the hair so my hair was getting thinner. I mean, it was so bad it got into my fingernails. And you ever see how they talk about when nails get infected they get all yellowy and discolored, it was just embarrassing.

An estimated 125 million people worldwide live with psoriasis, like celebrity Kim Kardashian.

How long has it been there?

About a week.

And do they itch at all? Do they burn?

A tiny bit. They just started.

For many, the disease is an occasional red blemish, the result of an overactive immune system. But Becky's psoriasis was so extreme she was shedding skin over her entire body.

It was unbelievable. I mean, you could follow the skin, this trail, it was so bad.

Unsightly, painful and worse, Becky developed psoriatic arthritis, which can cause irreversible joint damage.

We got her like a wheelchair to help around the house, when it started to get real bad.

Her husband, Rich Ireland, watched helplessly as his wife got worse, all the while remembering what drew him to her 20 years ago when they first met.

I think it was her eyes because a friend of ours had shown picture her to me and the first thing I looked at was her eyes. And I said, well, she's kind cute.

And it was those eyes that tragically became affected by the illness. The psoriasis had swollen her eyelids shut, causing an infection.

She had developed what's called ectropion and that's a condition where the eyelids, in a sense, stop functioning because they become so swollen that with every blink of an eye, you can't lubricate the eye surface.

Becky was transferred to Yale University Hospital in a last ditch attempt to save her eyes.

And it was really-- it was devastating.

Dermatologist, Dr. Brett King, was a part of the new team.

You have a young woman, in the middle of her life, totally vital, active, but she couldn't see.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Those eyes that Rich had fallen for, would never see again.

I remember, I had a book with me. And I just wanted to throw it at something.

And the we just sat there for a little bit in the doctor's office, and the doctor's left us alone. And I just sat there for a little bit and I was crying.

As devastating as the loss of her eyesight was, Becky's painful psoriasis still raged. That's when Dr. King changed her treatment plan, which included a new type of medicine, biologic drugs.

DR. BRETT KING: And over the course of really just a few months, her skin started to show dramatic improvement. The redness just started melting away, the itching went with the redness, and she started feeling comfortable in her skin.

With biologics, Becky's psoriasis symptoms disappeared by suppressing the over active cells in the immune system, causing the disease.

Today, I do a lot of the housework. I do laundry, I make the bed, I can read or write Braille now. My little circuit. I bake cakes, I bake cookies and brownies and put them into the pan. How's that, honey? Life is good.

And the painful ordeal brought Becky and her husband closer than ever.

He really showed how much he loved me. He stayed by my side.