Research Progress Related to Psoriasis

The NIAMS supports translational and clinical research on psoriasis at universities and other organizations throughout the country. Researchers work to understand what causes psoriasis, to identify new treatment strategies, and to uncover other conditions associated with the disease. Following are some examples of the types of studies they are working on.

• To learn more about what causes psoriasis, researchers are performing genetic analyses of people with the disease. The findings may fill some of the gaps in our understanding of how psoriasis starts, and lead to the identification of new drug targets.
• The human microbiome, the collection of all the microbes that live in and on the human body, interacts with the immune system in complex ways. Scientists are studying the makeup of the microbiome in psoriasis patients and how it may affect psoriatic disease outcomes.
• Other researchers are looking for ways to calm the immune system by using small molecules to block the activity of T cells or proteins that promote inflammation. These small molecules may form the basis of new medicines to treat the disease.
• Bacteria have evolved proteins to combat human immune mechanisms. Scientists are testing the efficacy of some of these bacterial proteins in treating psoriasis-like disease in mice.
• Most people with psoriasis develop it as adults, so the understanding of how to treat children is less developed. Scientists are applying artificial intelligence methods to identify disease patterns common to pediatric patients. This research may reveal subgroups of patients that respond better to certain therapies, enabling doctors to tailor treatments to individuals.
• People with psoriasis have a greater risk of other diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and heart problems, and researchers are trying to find out if there are shared genetic risk factors among these diseases. This information will help doctors better assess each patient’s risks and personalize their treatment.