Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic Arthritis

Medical Author: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

• What is psoriatic arthritis?
• What causes psoriatic arthritis?
• What symptoms do patients with psoriatic arthritis feel?
• How does the doctor diagnose psoriatic arthritis?
• How is psoriatic arthritis treated?
• Disease-Modifying Medicines
• What does the future hold for patients with psoriatic arthritis?
• Psoriatic Arthritis At A Glance
• Related psoriatic arthritis articles:
  Psoriatic arthritis - on WebMD

What is psoriatic arthritis?

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of the skin (psoriasis) and joints (arthritis). Psoriasis is a common skin condition affecting 2% of the Caucasian population in the United States. It features patchy, raised, red areas of skin inflammation with scaling. Psoriasis often affects the tips of the elbows and knees, the scalp, the navel, and around the genital areas or anus. Approximately 10% of patients who have psoriasis also develop an associated inflammation of their joints. Patients who have inflammatory arthritis and psoriasis are diagnosed as having psoriatic arthritis.

The onset of psoriatic arthritis generally occurs in the fourth and fifth decades of life. Males and females are affected equally. The skin disease (psoriasis) and the joint disease (arthritis) often appear separately. In fact, the skin disease precedes the arthritis in nearly 80% of patients. The arthritis may precede the psoriasis in up to 15% of patients. In some patients, the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis can be difficult if the arthritis precedes psoriasis by many years. In fact, some patients have had arthritis for over 20 years before psoriasis eventually appears! Conversely, patients can have psoriasis for over 20 years prior to development of arthritis, leading to the ultimate diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis is a systemic rheumatic disease that can also cause inflammation in body tissues away from the joints other than the skin, such as in the eyes, heart, lungs, and kidneys. Psoriatic arthritis shares many features with several other arthritic conditions, such as ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis (formerly Reiter's syndrome), and arthritis associated with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. All of these conditions can cause inflammation in the spine and other joints, and the eyes, skin, mouth, and various organs. In view of their similarities and tendency to cause inflammation of the spine, these conditions are collectively referred to as "spondyloarthropathies."

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/psoriatic_arthritis/article.htm