Video:Causes of Psoriasis

Transcript:Causes of Psoriasis

Hi, I'm Dr. Deborah Jaliman, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, for About.com, talking about the causes of psoriasis.

Triggers of Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a complex disease with many factors. It has genetic causes. So, if you have genetic mutations, you may get psoriasis, but you may not. Chromosome number sixteen, if there is a genetic mutation on it, you can get psoriasis, but it also requires a trigger from the environment. You can get a strep throat or other triggers, for example an injury to the skin if you have surgery, or you get a cut to the skin, that can also be a trigger. If you have a lot of alcohol use, that can trigger psoriasis. So, it's not only having the genetic component. It's also having some trigger in the environment.

Immunologic Effect of Psoriasis

Now, with psoriasis, there's an immunologic effect. There are cells in the skin, and those are white blood cells, and they're called the helper T-cells. Those helper T-cells affect our skin, and what they can do is, when they go wrong, they can dilate your blood vessels. And, when they dilate the blood vessels, that can cause inflammation in the skin, and they can also speed up the cells in the skin, so you can get very thick plaques on your elbows and on your knees. And they become inflamed, and that's what psoriasis is. So, when this whole mechanism goes wrong, you end up with psoriasis. So, there are many factors leading to psoriasis.

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