General aspects of psoriasis: narrative review

Abstract

Objective: To provide, through a narrative review, a broad approach to psoriasis, a chronic and autoimmune disease that mainly affects the skin. Bibliographic review: Psoriasis was first cited before Christ and currently affects about 125 million people worldwide. It affects men and women equally, mainly between 18 and 39 years old and 50 and 59 years old. It is characterized by periods of remission and exacerbation. It can be classified as mild, moderate and severe and its clinical variants are the vulgar, glutathous, palmoplantar, inverse, erythrodermic, pustular, nail and arthropathic types. The etiology of this immune-mediated inflammation of the skin tissue involves the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. The diagnosis is essentially clinical, rarely requiring biopsy of the lesions, and should preferably be performed by a dermatologist. Psoriasis has no cure and treatment is aimed at remission of symptoms and reduction of periods of activity. Final considerations: Psoriasis needs proper diagnosis and treatment, in order to achieve maximum regression of skin lesions, providing an improvement in the quality of life of individuals affected by the disease.