Question

Dan is a 20-year-old with plaque psoriasis. He reports that his father also had severe plaque psoriasis throughout his life. Dan wants to know what this is, what occurs, and an explanation of two treatments that may assist in making it less noticeable to others who do not understand the disease. What would you tell him?

Answer 1

Plaque psoriasis

Psoriasis is a skin disease which is of several types and the most common type is plaque psoriasis that affects about 7 million Americans. It is characterized by presence of scale that is a raised red patches covered with a whitish buildup of dead skins cells. It usually appears on the elbows, knees, scalp, and lower back that often cause itching or pain. The exact cause for the psoriasis is unknown yet and considered an autoimmune disease. Immune system attacks body’s own health cells as similar to infection causes immune mediated repair process which involves rapid growth of new cells, eventually end up like patches. It has been thought that Psoriosis could arise from an allergic reactions to sunburn, lithium or malaria. High level of stress and infection like strep can trigger the cause for Psoriasis. Psoriosis is not contagious but it is hereditary. About 10% of people act as carrier and only 3% of people show symptoms. Psoriosis mostly tend to be associated with inflammation, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, and obesity. It also increases the possibility of getting CVD, uveitis and psoriatic arthritis. Diagnosis involves the microscopic analysis of patches and biopsy.

Below listed are possible treatments for psoriasis and it can be used wither alone or in combination based on the severity of the disease.

• Steroid based topical treatment.
• UV based phototherapy involves exposure of skin to UV light under medical supervision.
• Systemic medication

Psoriosis cannot be cured and can only be managed with less severe flare-ups.