Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory immune-mediated disease that predominantly affects the skin and joints ( SIGN 2010 )

How common In the Europe and the US the estimated prevalence is 1-3 % A paper in the Canadian Family Physician reports a prevalence of 1.7 % in Canada Parisi et al 2013 report a prevalence of 1.3 % in the UK population Psoriasis can start at any age but a bimodal pattern has been noted at 16-22 and 57-60 yrs It affects both the sexes equallyIt us uncommon in children ( 0.71 % ) and the majority of cases occur before the age of 35 yrs Psoriasis is more common in white people compared to other ethnicity About 20 % of people who have psoriasis may also have psoriatic arthritis.

What happens ? It is now thought that psoriasis is a disease of systemic inflammation with ramifications for multiple organ systems The exact etiology is not known It is thought to be an autoimmune disease mediated by T-Lymphocytes Genetic or environmental factors activate plasmacytod dendritic cells -> production of various pro-inflammatory cytokines ( e.g TNF alpha ,interferon , interleukin ) and several of these cytokines stimulate keratinocyte hyperproliferation starting a...