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A cognitive-behavioural symptom management programme as an adjunct in psoriasis therapy.

BACKGROUND: Patients with psoriasis may experience significant psychological and social disabilities. Stress or distress are proposed aggravators of the disease process in psoriasis. Preliminary studies to date have suggested that adjunctive psychological therapies may be effective in the clinical management of psoriasis. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether a 6-week multidisciplinary management approach, the Psoriasis Symptom Management Programme (PSMP) for patients with psoriasis improves clinical severity of psoriasis and its associated psychological distress and disability. METHODS: In a case-control study, patients with psoriasis attending an out-patient psoriasis specialty clinic chose to receive standard psoriasis treatment alone (n = 53) or to enter the PSMP as an adjunct to standard therapy (n = 40). They were assessed at baseline, at the end of the 6-week PSMP and after 6 months follow-up. RESULTS: As compared with standard treatment alone, analysis of covariance indicated that participation in the PSMP resulted in a greater reduction in clinical severity of psoriasis (P = 0.001), anxiety (P = 0.001), depression (P = 0.001), psoriasis-related stress (P = 0.001) and disability (P = 0.04) at 6 weeks and 6 months follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The management of the physical aspects of psoriasis and its psychological effects are significantly improved for patients who opt for a 6-week integrated multidisciplinary approach. Furthermore, the techniques learnt by participation in the PSMP facilitate continued control of psoriasis for at least 6 months.

Administration, Topical↗

The genetic epidemiology of psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese Han.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of genetic factors on the onset of psoriasis vulgaris and to develop a possible genetic model of psoriasis in Chinese Han. METHODS: Data for 1043 patients with psoriasis vulgaris were obtained by questionnaire. Complex segregation analysis and heritability were performed using Penrose's method, Falconer's method, and the EPI INFO 6.0 and SAGE-REGTL programs. RESULTS: (1) For male and female patients, the peak ages of initial onset were 30-39 and 10-19 years, respectively, with the mean age of initial onset being 27.69 +/- 12.32 years in males and 23.26 +/- 12.56 years in females. (2) Of 1043 patients with psoriasis, 326 (31.26%) were reported to have a family history of psoriasis. The onset for males with a family history of psoriasis was earlier than that for those without a family history (P < 0.01). The morbidities of first-degree relatives were 7.67% in patients with type I psoriasis and 5.27% in patients with type II (P < 0.01), and those of second-degree relatives were 1.04% in type I and 0.24% in type II (P < 0.01). (3) The onset of psoriasis was earlier in females than in males in type I psoriasis (P < 0.01), but this was not the case in type II (P > 0.05). (4) The prevalence of psoriasis in first- and second-degree relatives of the proband with psoriasis was 7.24 and 0.95%, respectively; higher than that in the general population (0.146%). (5) The heritability of psoriasis in first- and second-degree relatives was 67.04 and 46.59%, respectively. The Mendelian, no-major-gene and environment model was rejected by complex segregation analysis. CONCLUSION: Psoriasis vulgaris follows a pattern of polygenetic or multifactorial inheritance rather than single-gene inheritance.

Adolescent↗

Physical and psychologic measures are necessary to assess overall psoriasis severity.

BACKGROUND: The assessment of psoriasis severity is complex and involves both the physical and psychologic assessment of the individual patient. OBJECTIVE: We compared the Salford Psoriasis Index and several other tools for assessing psoriasis severity for their abilities to assess both the physical and psychologic effects of psoriasis. METHODS: A total of 101 patients (44 women, 57 men) were assessed by means of the Salford Psoriasis Index (SPI), Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), Self-Administered PASI (SAPASI), Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ). RESULTS: The "signs" score of SPI (which measures the clinical extent of psoriasis), PASI, and SAPASI correlated well with each other (r = 0.69-0.99; P <.01). They also correlated significantly, but not as strongly, with scores of psoriasis-induced disability, the PDI and SPI "psychosocial disability" score (r = 0.46-0.51; P <.01), but not with general measures of psychologic distress. There was no significant correlation between the historical treatment, "intervention," score in SPI and either the physical or the psychologic score in the SPI. The PDI and "psychosocial disability" score of SPI correlated well with each other (r = 0.69; P <.01) as well as with the depression and anxiety subscale scores of HADS (r = 0.33 and r = 0.37; P <.01, respectively), the total number of symptoms suffered by the patient (r = 0.38; P <.01), and the belief that stress or worry were associated with psoriasis (r = 0.33; P <.01). CONCLUSION: Physical scores of psoriasis severity such as PASI, SAPASI, and the "signs" component of SPI give a partial indication of psychosocial disability caused by psoriasis. In many patients, however, the physical score does not reflect psychosocial disability. Patients should be assessed by a more holistic approach, which takes into account both physical and psychologic measurements, such as used in SPI, when assessing the severity of psoriasis.

Adolescent↗

HL-A antigens in psoriasis with special reference to the clinical type, age of onset, exacerbations after respiratory infections and occurrence of arthritis.

HL-A typing was performed in a series of 125 patients with common psoriasis, 12 patients with flexural psoriasis, 16 patients with erythrodermic psoriasis and 16 patients with generalized pustular psoriasis, and compared with typing in a control population. The HL-A antigens 13 and 17 were significantly increased in patients with common psoriasis and erythrodermic psoriasis. HL-A 17 was also found in two of the 16 patients with generalized pustular psoriasis. Neither HL-A 13 nor 17 was increased in patients with flexural psoriasis. It is suggested that flexular psoriasis might be genetically distinct from common psoriasis. TY was increased in patients with common psoriasis. The increase of HL-A 13, 17 and TY was most marked in patients with onset of psoriasis before the age of 40 years. HL-A 13 was found in 38 per cent of the 40 patients with infection-related exacerbations of psoriasis, but only in 17 per cent (p = 0.012) of the remaining 129 patients. HL-A 27 was found in 58 per cent of the 26 patients with sacro-iliitis and in 27 per cent of the 41 patients with peripheral arthritis without sacro-iliitis, but only in eight per cent of the 102 non-arthritic patients (p less than 0.001) and p less than 0.01, respectively).

Adolescent↗

Lymphoma rates are low but increased in patients with psoriasis: results from a population-based cohort study in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if the rate of lymphoma in patients with a history of psoriasis is different from the rate of lymphoma in patients without psoriasis. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Outpatient practices of general practitioners in the United Kingdom who contribute to the General Practice Research Database. PATIENTS: The population studied was a sample of 10% of the patients 65 years or older registered with a general practitioner contributing to the General Practice Research Database between 1988 and 1996. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The rate of lymphoma in patients with psoriasis compared with the rate of lymphoma in patients without psoriasis. RESULTS: There were 2718 patients who had psoriasis and 105 203 patients (the reference population) who did not have psoriasis. The median follow-up time was 46 months. We noted 276 lymphomas. Patients with psoriasis had a 2.95 relative rate of developing lymphoma (95% confidence interval, 1.83-4.76) compared with those without psoriasis. This estimate did not change after controlling for age and sex using the Cox multivariable proportional hazards model. The rate of lymphoma changed little when the patients treated with methotrexate or those who developed mycosis fungoides were excluded. Compared with the reference population, we found an additional 122 lymphomas per 100 000 patients annually among patients with psoriasis who were 65 years or older. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that patients with psoriasis are at increased risk for developing lymphoma. Additional studies are necessary to determine if the increased rate of lymphoma is related to psoriasis severity, psoriasis treatment, or an interaction between these risk factors.

Aged↗

Unfavorable cardiovascular risk profiles in untreated and treated psoriasis patients.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk profile. The systemic inflammation present in psoriasis, various systemic treatments for psoriasis and an increased prevalence of unhealthy life style factors may all contribute to this unfavorable risk profile. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of what is known about these risk factors in psoriasis, the way they influence the cardiovascular risk of psoriasis patients, and what can be done to reduce this risk. Genetic studies demonstrate that psoriasis and cardiovascular disease share common pathogenic features in which, for example inflammatory cytokines like TNF-alpha and IL-1 play an important role. The chronic inflammation in psoriasis has an unfavorable effect on the cardiovascular risk profile. Multiple cardiovascular risk factors seem to be influenced; the blood pressure, oxidative stress, dyslipidemia, endothelial cell dysfunction, homocysteine levels and blood platelet adhesion. Moreover, classic cardiovascular risk factors like smoking and obesity that have an increased prevalence among patients with psoriasis, indirectly also worsen the cardiovascular risk profile by stimulating the psoriasis activity. Systemic treatments in psoriasis reduce the cardiovascular risk by diminishing the inflammation, but it should be taken into account that most therapies also have adverse cardiovascular effects like dyslipidemia, hyperhomocysteinemia and hypertension. As a consequence preventive measures may be indicated at least during long-term treatments. Prospective research is warranted to accurately estimate the increased cardiovascular risk in psoriasis, to determine the underlying processes and to consider preventive measures according to the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease. The present overview provides data to advice health care providers to pay more attention to the cardiovascular risk profile in psoriasis patients.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

The risk of lymphoma in patients with psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, inflammatory disease. Psoriasis has been hypothesized to be associated with an increased risk of lymphoma due to its pathophysiology, its treatments, or a combination of these factors. We performed a large population-based cohort study of the risk of lymphoma in psoriasis patients using the General Practice Research Database. We identified 153,197 patients with psoriasis and 765,950 corresponding subjects without psoriasis. Psoriasis patients who received a systemic treatment consistent with extensive disease were classified as severe (N=3,994) and those who did not receive systemic therapies were classified as mild (N=149,203). The analyses were adjusted for age, gender, and person-time using a Cox proportional hazards model. For mild and severe psoriasis patients, the respective adjusted relative risks for lymphoma and its subtypes were as follows: all lymphoma 1.34 (1.16, 1.54) and 1.59 (0.88, 2.89); non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 1.15 (0.97, 1.37) and 0.73 (0.28, 1.96); Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) 1.42 (1.00, 2.02) and 3.18 (1.01, 9.97); cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (TCL) 4.10 (2.70, 6.23) and 10.75 (3.89, 29.76). Psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of lymphoma. The association is strongest for HL and CTCL. The excess risk of lymphoma attributed to psoriasis was 7.9/100,000 psoriasis patients per year. Although patients with psoriasis have an increased relative risk of lymphoma, the absolute risk attributable to psoriasis is low given that lymphoma is a rare disease and the magnitude of association is modest.

Adolescent↗

A systematic review of antistreptococcal interventions for guttate and chronic plaque psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Guttate psoriasis is closely associated with preceding or concurrent streptococcal infection. Some authorities have claimed that chronic plaque psoriasis may also be made worse by infection. In view of this many dermatologists have recommended using antibiotics for psoriasis, particularly guttate type. Some dermatologists have also recommended tonsillectomy for psoriasis in patients with recurrent streptococcal pharyngitis. OBJECTIVES: This review aims to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of antistreptococcal interventions, including antibiotics and tonsillectomy in the management of acute guttate and chronic plaque psoriasis. METHODS: Studies were identified by searching the Cochrane Clinical Trials Register (Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 1999), Medline (1966-September 1999), Embase (1988-September 1999), the Salford Database of Psoriasis Trials (to November 1999) and the European Dermato-Epidemiology Network (EDEN) Psoriasis Trials Database (to November 1999) for terms (STREPTOCOCC* or ANTIBIOTIC* or TONSIL*) and PSORIASIS using the Cochrane Skin Group search strategy. RESULTS: Only one trial met the selection criteria. This compared the use of two oral antibiotic schedules in 20 psoriasis patients, predominantly of guttate type, who had evidence of beta-haemolytic streptococcal colonization. Either rifampicin or placebo was added to the end of a standard course of phenoxymethylpenicillin or erythromycin. No patient in either arm of the study improved during the observation period. No randomized trials of tonsillectomy for psoriasis were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Although both antibiotics and tonsillectomy have frequently been advocated both for patients with guttate psoriasis and for selected patients with chronic plaque psoriasis, there is to date no good evidence that either intervention is beneficial.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Quality of life in 6497 Nordic patients with psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Disease-specific psoriasis-related quality of life (QOL) measures have recently been developed and used in several hospital-based investigations. However, little is known about the impact of psoriasis on QOL in people with psoriasis who are not referred by dermatologists. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to investigate psoriasis-related QOL in a large sample of members of the psoriasis associations from the Nordic countries, and to compare the results with those from psoriasis patients recruited from Nordic dermatologists or Nordic University clinics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 5795 association members and 702 patients rated their psoriasis severity and completed the Psoriasis Disability Index and the Psoriasis Life Stress Index. RESULTS: Patients reported greater disease severity and greater impairment of QOL than members of associations, and Norwegian participants reported greater disease severity and greater impairment of QOL than participants from the remaining Nordic countries. Older and married participants reported less impairment of QOL than younger participants and those living alone. When controlling for the influence of these and other demographic and socio-economic factors, self-reported severity emerged as the most significant predictor of psoriasis-related QOL, explaining 32-26% of the variation in QOL scores, with the remaining factors only accounting for 4-5% of the variation. Although correlated with self-reported severity, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index scores were not a significant predictor of QOL in the patient sample. CONCLUSIONS: Though self-reported severity may be the most important predictor, further research is needed to determine factors explaining the remaining variance in psoriasis-related QOL.

Adult↗

Patients' strategies for coping with psoriasis.

There is a paucity of research on the types of strategies that patients with psoriasis use to cope with the impact of their condition. By contrast there are a number of studies assessing coping by patients with nondermatological disease. The purpose of the present study was to examine strategies for coping in patients with psoriasis and investigate whether they differ as compared with normal controls and patients with other major medical diseases. Two hundred and fifty patients with a definite dermatologist-confirmed diagnosis of psoriasis participated in this cross-sectional study. Patients were assessed by psoriasis area severity index and all patients completed the COPE questionnaire and psoriasis disability index. Sixty healthy, control participants completed the COPE questionnaire for comparison purposes. Mean COPE scores from patients with psoriasis were also compared with published COPE scores from other medical diseases. The coping strategies most frequently used by patients with psoriasis were acceptance, planning, active coping and positive reinterpretation. The least frequently used were alcohol and nonprescription drugs, religion, and denial of their condition. Despite reporting greater disability, patients with severe psoriasis did not significantly differ from those with mild/moderate disease in their use of particular forms of coping strategies. Patients with psoriasis as a whole tended to use significantly less active coping strategies, planning, positive reinterpretation and humour when compared with normal controls. There was marked similarity in the frequency of use of particular coping strategies between patients with psoriasis and patients with other medical conditions. Similar types of coping strategies are utilized by patients regardless of whether their illness is visible (psoriasis) invisible (chronic fatigue syndrome, atrial fibrillation), has significant physical impairment (spinal cord injury), or is life-threatening (cancer, and myocardial infarction). It appears that illness brings with it a generic form of coping that may require shaping to fit the individual demands of diseases such as psoriasis.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

The profile and outcome of pustular psoriasis in Singapore: a report of 28 cases.

BACKGROUND: Pustular psoriasis is a rare form of psoriasis that can be divided into generalized and localized forms. The aim of this study is to describe the patient profile and outcome of pustular psoriasis seen at a tertiary referral skin center in a tropical country. METHODS: The records of all patients with pustular psoriasis during the 4 years from 1989 to 1993 were reviewed. Diagnostic criteria for selection included at least one episode of either generalized or localized macroscopic noninfective pustulation. RESULTS: There were 28 patients with pustular psoriasis, with an age range of 4-77 years. Nineteen patients had generalized pustular psoriasis: Von Zumbusch (seven), annular form (two), juvenile form (six), pustular psoriasis of pregnancy (one), and the localized form of generalized pustular psoriasis (three). Nine patients had localized pustular psoriasis: palmoplantar pustulosis (five) and acrodermatitis continua (four). Patients with the acute Von Zumbusch pattern had recalcitrant disease with multiple flares and significant morbidity and mortality. Patients with the annular form had a subacute onset and a chronic course. In patients with the juvenile form of generalized pustular psoriasis, two patterns could be recognized: Zumbusch form (four) and annular form (two). Despite significant morbidity, each of our young patients had a relatively benign course with no deaths and an excellent response to etretinate therapy. Our nine patients with localized pustular psoriasis all had a chronic course: the average duration of disease was 6 years for patients with palmoplantar pustulosis and 12 years for patients with acrodermatitis continua. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of pustular psoriasis seen in Singapore is similar to that reported in the Western literature. Using these categories we can provide guidelines for treatment and prognosis.

Adolescent↗

The variable incidence of psoriasis in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Surveys of skin disorders have previously provided information about the prevalence and incidence of psoriasis in sub-Saharan Africa; however, the geographic and ethnic trends which may be drawn from these surveys have not been fully described in previous studies, which considered only a fraction of the available data. METHODS: A critical review of clinic-based surveys of psoriasis incidence and population-based studies of psoriasis prevalence is presented. The incidence of psoriasis is adjusted, wherever possible, to factor out the widely variable incidence of infectious skin conditions seen in African skin clinics. To distinguish between genetic and environmental factors that may be responsible for the variability of psoriasis incidence, attention is drawn to climate, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) frequencies, and language groups across the regions surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa. RESULTS: Higher psoriasis incidence rates are consistently observed in eastern Africa than in western Africa, consistent with more limited data on the prevalence of psoriasis in western Africa. Neither rainfall/humidity levels nor HLA frequencies can simply account for these differences; however, the ethnicities of sub-Saharan African peoples may be observed to parallel roughly the trend in psoriasis incidence. Western African countries, such as Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, where lower rates of psoriasis incidence have been reported (less than 1.0% of skin disorders), are populated mainly by non-Bantu-speaking ethnic groups. Bantu-speaking peoples constitute a majority in the populations of most countries in eastern and southern sub-Saharan Africa, where the incidence of psoriasis varies widely. African Americans, whose largely non-Bantu-speaking African ancestry is shared with modern western Africans, also have relatively low psoriasis incidence rates by comparison with North American Caucasians. CONCLUSIONS: Ethnic correlations both within Africa and between North America and Africa suggest that unidentified genetic factors, which differ between eastern and western sub-Saharan Africans, may govern the differential incidence of psoriasis.

Africa South of the Sahara↗

[Psoriasis: evolution and revolution].

Psoriasis is a model disease in dermatology. It is a common disease that affects at least 2 to 3 % of the population. It is an illness characterized by an excessive reaction of the skin, in term of proinflammatory cytokines release, to no specific attacks: these attacks can be immunological, mechanical, metabolic, drug-induced or psychological. This excessive reaction is characterized by epidermal proliferation combined with incomplete terminal differentiation, as well as an inflammatory response responsible for the chronic nature of the lesions. The way to understand psoriasis is therefore to reach a better appreciation of the messages that enable the skin cells to initiate an inflammatory response, and by better understanding the way in which the inflammatory cells responsible for innate and acquired immune responses are capable of bringing about proliferation and abnormal epidermal differentiation. Taking an interest in psoriasis is therefore taking an interest in all facets of skin physiology and in all the ways the skin reacts to attacks from the environment. Every year for more than thirty years, more than 300 publications have endeavoured to explore one aspect or another of psoriasis from a clinical, epidemiological, physiopathological or therapeutic point of view. There is no new technique for observing the skin that has not been immediately applied to the study of psoriasis - which is privileged to enjoy the reflected progress made in dermatology. Nor has psoriasis remained untouched by whims of fashion, all manner of scenarios having been suggested to explain it, right from a scarring disease to an autoimmune illness through a genetic or psychosomatic disorder. Psoriasis is at the origin of a medical revolution mounted to supplement and enhance the effectiveness of evidence-based medicine ; it is the "patient-centred medicine". Psoriasis only exceptionally jeopardizes life. Conversely, it is a disease that does affect quality of life. The patient alone must be the judge of his or her quality of life, and it is therefore up to the patient, not the doctor, to gauge the severity of psoriasis and hence decide on reasonable therapeutic indications. Psoriasis, then, cannot be treated without placing the patient, not the illness, at the centre of therapeutic negotiations. The 20th century has seen the disease targeted by boundless efforts ; the 21st century will see the development of medical techniques that allow the patient, in all its complexity, to be positioned at the centre of therapeutic efforts. This revolution began in dermatology, centring around psoriasis, and is spreading progressively to all chronic disorders and all disciplines. New quite interesting therapeutic weapons are available from a few months making possible to better adjust the therapeutic strategies of psoriasis to the patients needs but they are expensive opening again the debates on the limit of the social solidarity.

Animals↗

Association of insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene with psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Genetic factors are likely to be of fundamental importance in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. There are reports concerning the induction or/and exacerbation of psoriasis by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which have been attributed to the ACE inhibitor-induced augmentation of kinin levels in skin. However, to the best of our knowledge there has been no molecular genetic study investigating whether ACE insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism may contribute to the genetic background in psoriasis. OBJECTIVES: To assess the role of ACE I/D polymorphism in psoriasis. METHODS: A group of 86 patients with psoriasis and 154 control subjects were analysed for ACE I/D polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The distribution of ACE I/D polymorphism and allele frequencies in psoriatic patients was not significantly different from controls. Further analyses of psoriasis patients showed that ACE I/D polymorphism was not associated with age at onset of disease, clinical type of psoriasis or gender. However, the frequency of the I allele was significantly higher in patients with a positive family history of psoriasis than in those with no family history (sporadic psoriasis) (48% vs. 32%; P =0.03). In addition, the I allele was found significantly more frequently in type I psoriasis patients (onset < 40 years and positive family history) than in type II psoriasis patients (onset >/= 40 years, no family history) (48% vs. 27%; P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the presence of the I allele may confer susceptibility to development of psoriasis in individuals from psoriatic families.

Adult↗

Psoriasis in Swedish conscripts: time trend and association with T-helper 2-mediated disorders.

BACKGROUND: According to the T-helper (Th)1/Th2 paradigm, it has been argued that Th1-dominated diseases such as psoriasis and Th2-dominated diseases such as asthma and hay fever should be mutually exclusive, as the immune regulatory cells, Th1 and Th2, cross-regulate each other. An increase in asthma and hay fever has occurred in Sweden over the past four to five decades, but the time trend for psoriasis is not clear. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of psoriasis in young Swedish men over a period of three decades and the association between psoriasis and allergic disorders. METHODS: Register study based on data from the Swedish Military Service Conscription Register and the Total Population and the Population and Housing Censuses. Psoriasis, asthma (with and without allergic rhinitis) and allergic rhinitis at conscription were studied in 1 226 193 male conscripts in successive cohorts born between 1952 and 1977. RESULTS: The prevalence of psoriasis was about 0.5% and it remained stable over three decades. Conscripts with psoriasis and their siblings were less likely to have eczema. The reduced risk of eczema in conscripts with psoriasis was unchanged over time. A reduced risk of allergic rhinitis was also demonstrated in conscripts with psoriasis and their siblings but only in the most recent birth cohort born between 1970 and 1977. CONCLUSIONS: A strong genetic influence may explain the unchanged prevalence of psoriasis in Swedish conscripts. A genetic predisposition for psoriasis may confer partial protection from eczema and allergic rhinitis. The inverse relationship between allergic rhinitis and psoriasis appeared to be a recent phenomenon.

Adolescent↗

Psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese individuals is associated with PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes.

BACKGROUND: Besides the HLA-Cw*0602 allele, the psoriasis susceptibility 1 candidate 3 (PSORS1C3) and corneodesmosin (CDSN) genes are two probable psoriasis susceptibility genes in the PSORS1 locus. The -79C, -26C and +246A alleles of the PSORS1C3 gene, the CDSN*971T allele, CDSN*TTC (619T-1236T-1243C) and CDSN*5 (619T-1240G-1243C) are strongly associated with psoriasis in the caucasian population. Until now, no haplotype study of the PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes has been documented in Chinese patients with psoriasis vulgaris. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine whether genetic polymorphisms of the PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes were associated with an increased risk of psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese patients in Taiwan. METHODS: We investigated the PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes for disease association by direct sequencing in 178 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 203 control subjects. Genotyping for HLA-Cw*0602, alpha-helix coiled-coil rod homologue (HCR) gene and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) n.9 was also carried out using a sequence-based typing method. RESULTS: The PSORS1C3*582A allele, an SNP in the 3'-untranslated region of the PSORS1C3 gene, was a major psoriasis vulgaris susceptibility allele in the Chinese population, and the association was much stronger in patients with early-onset psoriasis vulgaris (22.3% vs. 6.9%, odds ratio = 3.87, P(c) =0.0000072). The frequencies of CDSN*TTC and CDSN*971T were also significantly increased in patients with early-onset psoriasis vulgaris. Moreover, PSORS1C3*582A, SNP n.9*C, Cw*0602 and HCR*WWCC were in near complete linkage disequilibrium (LD) with each other; in contrast, the LD with the CDSN gene was not so strong. SNP n.9*C-Cw*0602-PSORS1C3*582A-HCR*WWCC was a major susceptibility haplotype in patients with early-onset psoriasis vulgaris (P < 10(-7)) and this risk haplotype also carried CDSN*TTC and CDSN*971T. CONCLUSIONS: The PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes are important psoriasis susceptibility genes in Chinese patients with psoriasis vulgaris.

Adolescent↗

HLA-DQA1 and DQB1 alleles are associated with genetic susceptibility to psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese Han.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis vulgaris is a chronic skin disorder characterized by infiltration of inflammatory elements, keratinocyte hyperproliferation and altered differentiation. Although the pathogenesis of psoriasis is not fully understood, there is solid evidence of a susceptibility locus in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether HLA-DQA1 and DQB1 alleles are associated with genetic susceptibility to psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese Han. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method was used to analyse the distribution of HLA-DQA1 and DQB1 alleles in 189 patients with psoriasis and 273 healthy controls. RESULTS: The HLA-DQA1*0104 (OR = 2.33, P = 0.0001154, Pc = 2.0 x 10-3), DQA1*0201 (OR = 3.36, P < 1.0 x 10-7, Pc < 1.0 x 10-6), DQB1*0201 (OR = 1.64, P = 0.0192, Pc > 0.05) and DQB1*0303 (OR = 1.55, P = 0.0377, Pc > 0.05) alleles were more prevalent in patients with psoriasis vulgaris than in controls, and HLA-DQA1*0501 (OR = 0.30, P = 0.0000039, Pc < 4.0 x 10-5) alleles were less prevalent. The HLA-DQA1*0104 (OR = 2.42, P = 0.0001159, Pc < 2.0 x 10-3), DQA1*0201 (OR = 3.74, P < 1.0 x 10-7, Pc < 1.0 x 10-6) and DQA1*0501 (OR = 0.30, P = 0.0000374, Pc < 4.0 x 10-4) alleles were only associated with type I psoriasis. HLA-DQA1*0104 and DQA1*0201 were more prevalent in patients with or without a family history of psoriasis. However, the DQA1*0501 allele was only more prevalent in patients without a family history of psoriasis. CONCLUSION: HLA-DQA1*0104 and DQA1*0201 alleles may be psoriasis susceptibility genes or may be in close linkage with the susceptibility genes. The HLA-DQA1*0501 allele seems to have a protective effect against the development of psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese Han. There may be a difference in genetic background between psoriasis patients with and without a family history of psoriasis.

Adolescent↗

Scalp psoriasis, clinical presentations and therapeutic management.

BACKGROUND: The scalp is a well-known predilection site for psoriasis. Many patients indicate that scalp psoriasis is both psychologically and socially distressing. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present investigation is to provide epidemiological data on the various manifestations of scalp psoriasis, as well as on its therapeutic management. METHODS: A questionnaire, targeted on scalp psoriasis, was mailed to patient subscribers of a Dutch journal on psoriasis. In total 1,023 forms were returned and evaluated. RESULTS: Remarkably, a relatively high occurrence of facial psoriasis (25%) and nail psoriasis (40%) was recorded. The dynamics of scalp psoriasis were rather similar to psoriasis at other sites with respect to the total duration of the disease and exacerbations/remissions. In 57% of the patients, psoriasis was psychologically and socially distressing, at least occasionally. Itch and scaling proved to be the leading symptoms, in terms of frequency of occurrence as well as in terms of distress. Therefore, these parameters should be regarded as primary efficacy criteria in the treatment of scalp psoriasis. On average, most patients were seen by the dermatologist 5 times a year. The majority of prescriptions (76%) was given by the dermatologist. The application of topical corticosteroids was by far the most frequent treatment modality. To our surprise, calcipotriol was used by 28% of patients. At the time of investigation calcipotriol was only available as ointment. Tar shampoos were used by 51% of the patients, although the clinical efficacy of such a shampoo has never been demonstrated in a controlled study. A remarkable observation was the lack of instruction on the duration of treatment and the frequency of applications. In fact, 72% of the patients used topical treatments, including topical corticosteroids, for more than 8 weeks, and 42% of the patients used an intermittent schedule of a few applications per week. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the present survey, the following profile for an optimal treatment of scalp psoriasis can be constructed: (1) effective applications a few times per week; (2) either a lotion or an emulsion, and (3) safety for long-term use.

Administration, Topical↗