Casey Gerry's San Diego pharmaceutical attorneys want to help prospective clients understand the words used in discussing this disorder and its causes. Here is a list of frequently used medical terms.
| Black box warning | The FDA's strongest warning for a drug. "Black box" refers to the heavy black line surrounding the text of the warning in the package insert, the informational literature about the drug |
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| Calcipotriene | A form of synthetic vitamin D3, also marketed under the trade name Dovonex. Calcipotriene is FDA-approved for treating psoriasis. It slows down the rate of skin cell growth, flattens lesions caused by psoriasis and removes scale. It is not effective at decreasing inflammation. |
| Extracorporeal | Literally, outside the body. The term refers to the extracting of blood treated with a light-activated drug and performing therapeutic activity, such as exposing blood fractions to ultraviolet light, outside the body, and then returning it to the body. See Plasmapheresis. |
| GBCA | Gadolinium Based Contrast Agent A fluid containing the element Gadolinium which is swallowed or injected before a magnetic resonance procedure to increase the contrast between the tissues that absorb the contrast agent, and the surrounding tissue |
| Immunoglobulin | Another term for antibodies, which are proteins found in blood, and are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects, such as bacteria and viruses. |
| Intralesional alpha-interferon | Alpha Interferons are one of several proteins produced by the immune system. In concert with other proteins, it directs the immune system's attack on viruses, bacteria, and other foreign substances that the immune system sees as a threat. Interferons attack a foreign substance by slowing, blocking, or changing its growth or function. Intralesional injection refers to injecting the interferon into the affected site. |
| MRI | Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a method using a magnetic field and pulses of radio waves to render images of the inside of a body, without cutting or otherwise invading the body. Magnetic imaging is used as a diagnostic tool, to find and evaluate abnormalities such as tumors and other alterations of living tissues. |
| MRA | Magnetic Resonance Angiography, the use of magnetic resonance to study the interior of arteries, in order to find aneurysms, blockages, tears in arterial walls, and narrowing of arteries. |
| NSF | Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis is a severe and debilitating systemic disorder whose most prominent and visible effects occur in the skin. It has occurred only in people with kidney disease, and its onset is strongly correlated with exposure to Gadolinium Based Contrast Agents in MRI's and MRA's. |
| Phototherapy | The treatment of a disorder, especially of the skin, by exposure to light, including ultraviolet and infrared radiation. |
| Photodynamic therapy | Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the use of light-catalyzed chemical reactions mediated through the interaction of photosensitizing agents, light, and oxygen for the treatment of malignant or benign diseases. PDT is a two-stage procedure in which the photosensitive agent is administered, and selectively absorbed by the diseased tissue. Then the tissue is exposed to light of a specific wavelength, which activates the photosensitizing agent, enabling it to act on the targeted tissue. |
| Photopheresis | The use of a drug which is activated by exposure to Ultraviolet light |
| Plasmapheresis | The removal of blood plasma or some plasma components from blood circulation for treatment outside the body, and the return to the body. It is classified as an extracorporeal therapy. |
| Prednisone | One of a class of drugs called steroids. Prednisone reduces swelling and inflammatory responses. It also undermines the body's immune response, its ability to fight infections. |
| Renal | Referring to the kidneys |
| Transglutaminase | A group of enzymes that catalyze the formation of strong chemical bonds that are resistant to protein breakdown. Transglutaminases may be implicated in the formation of fibrotic tissue in NSF. |