A potential cure or other successful treatment options

[Guest Posts]

Do you forsee a cure in our lifetime? Or in the near future other successful treatment options?
Wendy

[Dr Jane Sterling]

What a good question and one that I would love to be able to answer positively!
It is known that lichen sclerosus is a mild or limited disorder of the immune system, in which only part of the body is affected. Many of the treatments available now that suppress the immune system have a wide effect on the whole immune system - which brings other somewhat risky problems such as being more likely to get infections.
However, there have been huge advances in developing immune-suppressive treatments that have a much more limited effect on just part of the immune system - these are now being used to treat other conditions like arthritis and some skin problems such as psoriasis. So although there is no treatment like this for lichen sclerosus right now, it is possible that an immunosuppressive treatment specific for lichen sclerosus might be developed in the future. So I am not sure that it is likely to be in the lifetime of a 70-year-old woman, but it might be in the lifetime of a 30-year-old. Let's hope!