- Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disorder characterized by raised, inflamed and scaly patches of skin that can also be itchy and painful.
- The severity of psoriasis varies greatly from person to person.
- New research shows that low vitamin D levels may be associated with more severe psoriasis.
Psoriasis is a condition that affects more than
The exact cause of psoriasis is not fully understood, but scientists believe that it is an autoimmune condition, which means that it is the result of the immune system accidentally attacking your body instead of protecting it. In psoriasis, this autoimmune activity causes new skin cells to be produced much faster than normal, and these skin cells accumulate on the skin’s surface in the form of thick, scaly patches.
Symptoms of psoriasis can range from mild to severe. According to the National Psoriasis Foundation:
- mild psoriasis affects less than 3% of the body
- moderate psoriasis affects 3–10% of the body
- severe psoriasis affects more than 10% of the body
Rachel K. Lim, an MD candidate at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, presented the new study’s findings at NUTRITION 2023, the annual flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held July 22-25 in Boston.
Medical News Today asked Eunyoung Cho, ScD, research team leader and associate professor of dermatology and epidemiology at Brown University, to explain the biological connection between vitamin D and psoriasis.
“Keratinocytes, which are cells in your skin, have vitamin D receptors. Currently, topical vitamin D analogs, which mimic the effects of vitamin D, are used to treat psoriasis because these analogs bind to vitamin D receptors on keratinocytes to prevent their proliferation. This proliferation is what leads to the thick plaques characteristic of…
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