Dear Northeast Dermatology Team: I see a lot of medications advertised on TV that appear to treat skin conditions, but it’s alphabet soup when describing the diseases - they use acronyms for skin conditions that I’ve never heard of! What are these medicines actually treating?
Acronyms for Skin Conditions on TV
Since the landmark ruling by the FDA in 1997 that allowed pharmaceutical companies to advertise prescription medications directly to the public, these commercials have become ubiquitous over the airwaves. Since the 2000’s, these ads have often used abbreviations and acronyms to describe the specific medical conditions being treated, something that originated as a way to help consumers, but might be confusing with so many acronyms being tossed around.
The trend really gained traction as Viagra and similar medications came to market and coined the term “ED” for erectile dysfunction to help remove stigma from the disorder and make the public more receptive to the information. Since then, a plethora of medical diseases have been simplified to initials to help make the conditions more recognizable, memorable, and approachable for consumers.
Acronyms for Skin Conditions Decoded
Many of those conditions are treated by dermatologists. Here are several acronyms for skin conditions you may recall seeing:
AD - Atopic Dermatitis
Also commonly known as eczema, this is an inflammatory condition of the skin that causes chronic, very itchy rashes on the skin. Medications that treat the condition include: Dupixent, Renvoq, Adbry, and Cibinquo.
PSA - Psoriatic Arthritis
This is a chronic arthritis that causes joint pain and typically seen in patients with psoriasis of the skin. Treatments include Humira, Enbrel, Cosentyx, Renvoq, Tremfya, and Skyrizi.
HS - Hidradenitis Suppurativa
This tongue twister probably deserves to go by its initials. It causes recurrent, painful boils in the armpit and groin areas. Current therapies include Humira and Cosentyx.
PN - Prurigo Nodularis
A chronic, itchy skin condition that results from picking the skin and causing thickened nodules to form. Dupixent and Nemluvio are currently used to treat this condition.
CIU or CSU - Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria or Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria
This condition presents with longstanding hive-type rashes without a clear cause that leave itchy, red bumps and patches on the skin. Xolair ads tend to use the term CIU and Dupixent uses CSU.
We hope this will help you decipher those acronyms in commercials in the future, but if not, feel free to ask us next time you’re in the office!
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