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Rationale. Psoriasis is a prevalent chronic inflammatory disease with worldwide distribution affecting approximately 2% of the Caucasian population. There have been many population- and family-based studies that agree on the strong genetic component of this disease. Several studies have investigated the relationship between cytokine gene polymorphisms, psoriasis, and the occurrence of comorbidities but their data are conflicting. Objective. This study examines cytokine gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the context of psoriasis and metabolic syndrome, with a focus on the occurrence of comorbidities in psoriasis patients. The working hypothesis is that particular SNPs may predispose to an accelerated disease course and more comorbidities in psoriasis patients. Methods. This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016 in the Dermatology Department of "Elias" University Emergency Hospital, Bucharest and included 82 psoriasis patients. Several clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded, and the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) was noted. Using real-time PCR, we tested for the following SNPs: rs361525, rs1800629, rs1800896, rs610604, rs17782313. Results. Disease severity was not significantly influenced by any of the five studied SNPs. Gene polymorphism of rs17782313 was found to influence the occurrence of psoriatic arthritis. In these patients, rs610604 and rs17782313 polymorphisms were associated with the presence of diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, rs17782313 influenced the presence of obesity, heterozygotes being more at risk. Our data suggested that MetS occurred independently of the five studied SNPs. Discussion. The influence of certain cytokine gene polymorphisms on multiple organ systems is justification enough for further analysis of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of metabolic syndrome development in psoriasis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emergent imaging technique, based on the interference of infrared radiation and living tissues, that allows the in vivo visualization of the skin structures, at high resolution and up to 1.6 mm depth. As such, there is mounting evidence that OCT may be an interesting technique for the diagnosis of skin diseases, including the noninvasive early detection of cutaneous tumors. Objective: We aimed to investigate the utility of OCT for the diagnosis of non-melanocytic, non-pigmented cutaneous tumors. Methods: Preliminary results are presented from an initiated study. Fifteen consecutive patients with clinical suspicion of epithelial cancers and precancers registered over one week in a university dermatologic department were included. As control were selected 7 patients with inflammatory skin diseases (psoriasis, lichen planus, cutaneous lupus erythematosus). In all study and control patients, the lesions and samples of normal, perilesional skin were documented by clinical digital photography, contact dermoscopy with digital image capture and OCT with central wavelength of 930 nm. Final diagnosis was certified by histopathological analysis. Results: We could identify morphological features in OCT examination that distinguished between normal and lesional skin, and between neoplastic vs. inflammatory lesions. In the same time, combining OCT and dermatoscopical evaluation of a lesion improved the performance of diagnosis when compared to clinical diagnosis alone and with either OCT or dermoscopy imaging used alone. Conclusions: OCT appears as a promising method of in vivo diagnosis of early neoplastic cutaneous lesions with equivocal clinical and/or dermoscopic aspect. Continuation of our study as well as other larger investigation will be able to contribute with new insights in the role of OCT in the non-invasive diagnosis of skin disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]