Demographic aspects, clinical characteristics, and therapeutic approaches in geriatric psoriasis: A study from a tertiary center

BACKGROUND

Geriatric psoriasis, due to its unusual clinical manifestations and higher rates of systemic complications in this age group, is a challenging issue for dermatologists. Therefore, we aimed to provide an overview of the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic consequences among patients aged over 60 years with psoriasis in a referral center in Iran.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 156 patients over 60 years with the definitive diagnosis of psoriasis that were referred to our center between 2015 and 2019. By reviewing the recorded files of the patients, baseline characteristics including demographics, underlying comorbidities, age of disease onset, clinical type of the disease, clinical manifestations, and therapeutic approaches were extracted.

RESULTS

The most common clinical feature was plaque type (73.1%) followed by pustular type (10.9%). The most frequent involved zone was the lower extremities (84.6%). Most of the patients were treated topically (87.1%), while as the most frequent systemic approaches, methotrexate and acitretin were considered for 74.4% and 60.3%, respectively. A significantly higher mean age at disease onset was found in female patients compared to male patients. The plaque type was more prevalent in men than in women. Also, the chance of nail involvement was 2.43 times higher in men than in women (p=0.011, 95%CI: 1.22-4.84). The disease duration was significantly longer in patients suffering from plaque compared to those without this feature. Conversely, those with palmoplantar type experienced shorter disease duration. Psoriatic arthritis was also revealed in patients of lower ages.

CONCLUSION

As in other societies, in our society, clinical characteristics, disease involvement patterns, as well as considered treatment approaches, can be influenced by demographic characteristics. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Retrospective study of gingival involvement in pemphigus: a difficult to treat phenomenon

BACKGROUND

Pemphigus is a group of autoimmune diseases characterized by flaccid lesions on the skin and mucous membranes. In pemphigus vulgaris, the most common subtype of pemphigus, lesions might be appeared anywhere on the oral mucosa, mostly in the buccal mucosa. However, the gingiva is a less frequently affected site.

METHODS

Here, we performed a retrospective study at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, covering a two-year period to identify pemphigus patients with active lesions confined to the gingiva.

RESULTS

Considering 1787 initially evaluated pemphigus cases, 512 (28.6%) were found to have a history of gingival involvement. Among them, 31 patients had only gingival involvement during their last visit, including 29 (93.5%) women and only two (6.5%) men. The mean of disease duration in this group was 5.29±3.46 years, and they had gingival involvement for a mean of 23.9±19.3 months. Of 28 patients, nine were negative for anti-Dsg3 and 24 were negative for anti-Dsg1. In 24 patients, who received rituximab, the mean PDAI specifically for gingiva was 4.76±0.74 at baseline, which had changed to 4.13±0.75 and 3.26±0.63 three and six months after rituximab administration, respectively. After three months, gingival lesions were either entirely resolved (n=3), partially resolved (n=11), remained unchanged (n=2), or progressed (n=7).

CONCLUSIONS

Gingiva-confined presentation of lesions in pemphigus could be non-anti-Dsg1/3 dependent in some patients. Such patients do not respond well to conventional treatments and rituximab therapy. More studies on the pathogenesis of gingiva-confined presentation of pemphigus are required. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.