Title:Investigating the Link between Psoriasis and Cardiovascular Disease: Current Evidence, Therapeutic Implications and Perspectives
Volume: 18
Issue: 6
Author(s): Eirini Kapniari*, Prokopios Papadimitriou, Marianna Dalamaga, George Makavos, Stefano Piaserico, Alexander Egeberg, Ignatios Ikonomidis and Evangelia Papadavid
Affiliation:
- 2nd Department of Dermatology and Venereology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Attikon Hospital, Athens,Greece
Keywords:
Psoriasis, cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, anti-inflammatory agents, biologics, skin disease.
Abstract: Psoriasis; a chronic inflammatory disease is characterized by symmetric hyperkeratotic
plaques affecting any part of the body. Psoriasis is nowadays considered as a systemic inflammation
linked with several comorbidities as metabolic syndrome, depression, anxiety and increased prevalence
of cardiovascular (CV) disease. The hypothesis that psoriasis is an independent CV risk factor leading to
atherosclerosis via inflammation is now widely accepted. Deciphering the underlying mechanisms interconnecting
psoriasis and CV disease may have significant implications in treatment decisions. Accumulating
evidence suggests that systematic therapies and recently introduced biologic agents, that control
psoriasis by suppressing the chronic and systemic inflammation, may alter the progression of CV disease.
We herein attempt a review of current evidence analysing the relationship between psoriasis and
CV comorbidities, comment on the mechanisms underlying this association and investigate the consequences
for the management of psoriasis.
