When I was a kid, there used to be a magazine advertisement that began “Do you suffer the heartbreak of psoriasis?” I couldn’t understand the connection between a skin rash and a broken heart until I began actually treating people with this skin condition. Psoriasis, which affects about 6 million Americans, is indeed a frustrating disorder, for both patient and doctor. Although the exact cause is unknown, we do know that new skin cells reproduce and accumulate faster than they can be sloughed off. The condition can range in severity from a few small patches to large and unsightly thick plaques that appear just about anywhere on the body.