Verna Wright Lecture: Psoriatic Arthritis: The Need for Early Intervention

About 30% of individuals with skin psoriasis will develop an inflammatory disease of the peripheral or axial skeleton involving synovial and/or entheseal tissue termed psoriatic arthritis (PsA). In most cases psoriasis will precede PsA by several years. Hence skin psoriasis provides an opportune model to investigate genetic and environmental factors that interact and contribute to the development of a common form of inflammatory arthritis. Further, the preexisting presence of psoriasis represents a unique opportunity for the early detection of arthritis and the potential for more effective intervention. However, despite the presence of psoriasis, there may be delay in the diagnosis of PsA that is associated with adverse longterm outcome. Undiagnosed disease is not uncommon, as demonstrated by studies applying screening questionnaires to primary care and dermatology clinic populations. Other potential risk factors, such as obesity and smoking, the presence of certain genetic and biomarker profiles, combined with accurate imaging modalities, offer the potential for more targeted screening. So in future it should be possible to detect PsA at a much earlier stage and prevent significant joint damage and associated disability before it happens.