and complement components in the stratum corneum. Most notable is the

hyperproliferation of keratinocytes in the epidermis. These keratinocytes

exhibit an increased mitotic rate and have ten times the turnover rate of

normal keratinocytes. There is also an infiltration of CD4+ T lymphocytes,

monocytes and neutrophils into the epidermis. Recently there has been much

debate over whether psoriasis is mediated by an autoimmune process.

The disease affects roughly two percent of the population in the

United States. It has the greatest prevalence among Scandinavians and

Northern Europeans, where it affects three percent of the population, and

the least prevalence among North American Indians, with just half a

percent being affected. Psoriasis seems to affect both males and females

equally. There are two types of the disease. Type I generally occurs

during adolescence, with an average age of onset of sixteen years for

females and twenty-two years for males. Type II affects people over sixty

There are several immunological abnormalities associated with

psoriasis. Early psoriatic changes occur in advancin

Systemic corticosteroids are also quite effective in treatment of

remit and relapse, and the trigger appears to be multifactorial, as can be

dermis before lesion formation. Since Langerhans cells are antigen

condition may worsen after usage is discontinued. Other, more recent

epidermal antigen, Skn, is a target for adoptively transferred autoimmune

their release stimulates the activation of surrounding keratinocytes,

Some common words found in the essay are:
UVA Psoriasis, Cyclosporin CSA, Type II, UVA UVB, HLA-DR IL-2R, , IL-6 IL-8, HLA-B27 Reiter's, B37 DR7, HLA-DR ICAM-1, langerhans cells, autoimmune disease, type psoriasis, keratinocytes langerhans cells, cd4+ lymphocytes, shown effective, site lesion, keratinocytes langerhans, coal tar, memory cells, type ii, icam-1 expression keratinocytes, intraepidermal langerhans cells, activate naive cells, seventy-two percent concordance,
Approximate Word count = 1836
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)