NEWS: Genetic Change In Vascular System May Contribute To Psoriasis Susceptibility

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Genetic Change In Vascular System May Contribute To Psoriasis Susceptibility

Portland, Ore., Jan. 3, 2004 ­ The National Psoriasis Foundation today

hailed research that may eventually lead to additional therapies for

treating psoriasis, an incurable immune-mediated disease that affects 5

million Americans. In a paper to be published January 3 in the Journal of

Investigative Dermatology, Dr. Helen S. Young and colleagues at the

University of Manchester, in Manchester, UK, provide the first evidence that

there are alterations in a gene involving the development of the vascular

system that may contribute to psoriasis susceptibility. " This work offers a

new way of thinking about psoriasis, and may open up new approaches to

treating the disease, " said Gail Zimmerman, president and CEO of the

National Psoriasis Foundation. " While therapies focused on the immune system

are proving highly beneficial for many psoriasis patients, therapies that

target the vascular system might also one day provide relief to those facing

this challenging, and often debilitating, disease. "

It has been previously observed that aspects of the vascular system, or

blood vessel network in the skin, are altered in psoriasis. An essential

regulator of vascular development produced by skin cells, called VEGF or

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, is found in high levels in psoriatic

skin lesions. In this study, the authors show that certain SNPs, or single

nucleotide polymorphisms, of the VEGF gene itself occur with greater

frequency in a subset of people with psoriasis.

In a commentary appearing alongside the Young et al paper, Detmar,

M.D., of the Cutaneous Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General

Hospital in Boston writes: " Together with the biological evidence for a

pathogenetic role of VEGF in psoriasis, the study by Young et al suggests

that VEGF acts as a modifier gene in psoriasis and that therapeutic blockade

of the VEGF/VEGF receptor system might represent a novel, pharmacogenomic

approach for the future treatment of psoriasis. "

Psoriasis patients can hope that drugs that block the activity of VEGF ­

" anti-VEGF " therapies ­ may one day be used to treat psoriasis, much the

same way that anti-VEGF therapies are currently being tested in clinical

trials as a cancer treatment.

" This important paper by Young and colleagues provides additional insight

into the multiple genetic polymorphisms that likely determine the occurrence

and severity of psoriasis, " said A. Norris, M.D., chairman of the

University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver and chairman of the

Psoriasis Foundation's Scientific Review Committee. " The finding of

polymorphisms in the VEGF gene relating to susceptibility to psoriasis

reinforces the concept that angiogenesis is an important component of the

psoriasis phenotype, and indicates that multiple genes (including those

controlling the immune response, keratinocyte proliferation and

differentiation, and angiogenesis) might determine susceptibility to

psoriasis. "

The Young et al paper is called " Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Vascular

Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in Psoriasis of Early Onset. "

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About Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a lifelong skin disease that occurs when faulty signals in the

immune system cause skin cells to regenerate too quickly--every three to

four days instead of the usual 30-day cycle. Extra skin cells build up on

the skin's surface, forming red, flaky, scaly lesions that can itch, crack,

bleed and be extremely painful. Psoriasis generally appears on the joints,

limbs and scalp but it can appear anywhere on the body, covering some people

from head to toe. More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with

psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis, a degenerative disease of the joints

and connective tissues associated with psoriasis. Psoriasis typically first

strikes people between the ages of 15 and 35, but can affect anyone at any

age, including children.

About the National Psoriasis Foundation

The National Psoriasis Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization

fighting to improve the quality of life of the more than 5 million Americans

diagnosed with psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis and their families.

Sustained by annual contributions from more than 40,000 members as well as

corporate and foundation grants, its mission is to educate people about

these diseases and their treatments, raise public awareness, and support

ongoing research. The organization is headquartered in Portland, Ore. For

more information, please call the Psoriasis Foundation at 800.723.9166 or

visit http://www.psoriasis.org .