Glossary of terms: G

Blood test for a protein made in the liver, particularly sensitive to alcohol overuse, but found in other causes of liver dysfunction. Patients with high results are not safe to take methotrexate without careful evaluation.

The material that forms the biologic code for all life forms.

is a healthcare professional who treats all kinds of illnesses and health related problems. He or she is the first doctor that people would see when they are ill. This is also known as primary care.

products that are in the public domain and anyone can produce or distribute. These poducts are not protected by trademark or patent or copyright.

The sex, or reproductive organs visible on the outside of the body. Also known as the genitalia.

is a tiny organism that can cause diseases.

is the name given to a group of eye diseases in which the optic nerve at the back of the eye is slowly destroyed. Untreated glaucoma leads to permanent damage of the optic nerve which can progress to blindness.

the sugar found in the blood which the brain and the muscles use as fuel. 

test involving taking a dose of glucose followed by a series of blood tests to see how much has appeared in the blood over a period of hours and used to confirm diagnosis of diabetes.Useful in patients on long-term steroid treatment.

a test done on blood in diabetes to check on long term control.

patients with severe or disabling psoriasis may go to hospital or psoriasis treatment centres for concentrated treatment with UVB and topical coal tar. This is known as the Goeckerman regimen and usually takes at least three or four weeks of daily treatment.

injections (intramuscular) are sometimes used since 1930s to reduce the inflammation in joints and decrease pain, swelling and stiffness in psoriatic arthritis.

is organised exclusively for non-profit, educational, and scientific purposes, specifically to facilitate sharing of information related to psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, networking among different medical disciplines that see psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients and to enhance research, diagnosis and treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

involves exposing the skin to low-energy, non-penetrative electromagnetic radiation. It is used in inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis as an option if other therapies have failed. There a number of studies that have looked at this therapy. The largest included 5739 patients, of which 24% of all psoriasis patients had been treated with Grenz rays.There is divided opinion on the use of the therapy and in the UK, it has been suggested that it no longer has a place in the treatment pathway as newer therapies have superseded it.

a term that is used to describe lesions on the skin that are shaped like drops of water.

psoriasis characterised by red, drop-like dots on the skin.