World Psoriasis Day

Friday October 29, 2010

Australian-first exhibition reveals The Naked Truth about psoriasis

• Australians with psoriasis unite to bare their condition in a bid to inspire others to feel comfortable in their skin
• It is estimated that over half a million Australians suffer from psoriasis1-5
• Exhibition from today at Westfield's Bondi Junction and Chatswood, Sydney until Sunday 31 October
• Online gallery - www.psoriasisthenakedtruth.com.au

Psoriasis: The Naked Truth, an Australian-first community awareness initiative exposing the devastating physical, emotional and mental impact of living with psoriasis, launches in Sydney and online with a dramatic photographic exhibition by renowned photographer, Stephen Dupont.

Mr Dupont's exhibition is the centre-piece of the initiative and features the personal stories of Australians with psoriasis who have bravely bared their skin to increase public understanding of the condition.

"The focus of my photographs is to communicate the person behind the psoriasis. I wanted to show their pain, but also their hope, their love of life and the beauty of the person behind the condition," says Mr Dupont.

"The beauty of photography is that it enables the subject to express the humanity of this unsung condition, while capturing the respect and dignity of people living with psoriasis in all their vulnerability."

Psoriasis is a distressing and chronic skin condition that is characterised by patches of thickened red, scaly patches of skin called plaques.6 It is easy to see the physical effects of psoriasis but what most people do not realise is that psoriasis is more than a skin disease.

"Psoriasis is a visible skin condition, but what the people who are fortunate enough to not have the disease don't realise is that the most debilitating part is often not the condition itself but the emotional and mental impact of the condition," says Associate Professor Peter Foley, a Dermatologist at Skin and Cancer Foundation, Melbourne.

Psoriasis - more than a skin disease

Psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of a person developing depression.7,8 More surprisingly, Australians with psoriasis are more susceptible to other health-related conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and inflammation of the joints.9-13

In fact, 79 per cent of people with severe psoriasis say the condition causes significant problems in their daily lives.14

The Photographic Exhibition

The Psoriasis: The Naked Truth exhibition features ten men and women from ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia with moderate to severe psoriasis, some with isolated skin patches and others covered from head to toe. The participants bared their skin and a part of themselves to help the Australian community realise that psoriasis does not have to dictate your life, but to understand the hurdles the people who have it have to overcome.

Richard Gonzales was first diagnosed with psoriasis in 1992. It started with a blemish on his head, but in a matter of weeks it spread to his neck, chest and back. Within six months, it was all over his body. Richard now has arthritis in his knee which is associated with the condition.

"I'm happy to be part of this exhibition. It's a great way to educate people about psoriasis. In the name of research, I've shown teams of dermatologists from around the world my body. I want to show others what it's like," says Richard.

Internationally acclaimed Australian photographer, Stephen Dupont, captured the men and women beneath the disease.

"This was a very special project because I was photographing a group of people who have spent a large part of their lives covering up and being characterised by their skin," he says.

The Documentary

The photographic exhibition is accompanied by a short documentary film capturing the "behind the scenes" journey of the participants and Stephen Dupont. The documentary further contextualises the images by delving deeper into the personal stories of the initiative's participants.

To view the 'behind the scenes' journey, please visit www.psoriasisthenakedtruth.com.au

To know more about Stephen Dupont, please visit:www.stephendupont.squarespace.com

Friends of Psoriasis: The Naked Truth Australia

Wyeth has created and funded Psoriasis: The Naked Truth and has joined forces with Psoriasis Australia, Skin and Cancer Foundation Australia and Skin and Cancer Foundation Victoria, who welcome such a distinctive approach in supporting Australians with psoriasis and raising awareness of the conditions among the general public.

For more information regarding Psoriasis: The Naked Truth community awareness initiative and for further information about psoriasis, please visit www.psoriasisthenakedtruth.com.au

References

1. Menter A, et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 2008; 58: 826?50.
2. Lui H, Mametak AJ. Psoriasis, plaque (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1108072-overview).
3. The Psoriasis Association (UK). What is psoriasis? (http://www.psoriasis-association.org.uk/what-is.html).
4. National Psoriasis Foundation (USA). About psoriasis: Statistics (http://psoriasis.org/netcommunity/learn_statistics).
5. Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au).
6. Gottlieb, A. Psoriasis: Emerging Therapeutic Therapies, Nature Reviews volume 4, January 2005.
7. Gupta et al. Depression and suicidal ideation in dermatology patients with acne alopecia arata, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. BrJ Dermatol 1998; 139: 846-850.
8. Richards HL et al. The contribution of perceptions of stigmatization to disability in patients with psoriasis. J Psychosom Res. 2001; 50:11-15.
9. Paller, AS et al. Etanercept treatment for children and adolescents with plaque psoriasis. N Engl J Med 2008; 358:241-51.
10. Gelfand JM et al. Epidemiology of psoriatic arthritis in the population of the United States. J Am Acad Dermatol 2005; 53:573-577.
11. Menter, A et al, Fast Facts: Psoriasis 2008; 24.
12. Neimann AL et al. Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with psoriasis. J Am Acad Dermatol 2006; 55:829-835.
13. Gelfand JM et al. Risk of Myocardial infarction in patients with psoriasis. JAMA 2006; 296:1735-1741.
14. Krueger G et al. The impact of psoriasis on quality of life: results of a 1998 National Psoriasis Foundation patient-membership survey. Arch Dermatol. 2001; 137:280-284.