Psoriatic arthritis (or "Arthropathic psoriasis") is a type of inflammatory arthritis that affects around 20% of people suffering from the chronic skin condition Psoriasis. It occurs more commonly in patients with tissue type HLA-B27. Treatment of psoriatic arthritis is similar to that of Rheumatoid arthritis. More than 80% of patients with psoriatic arthritis will have psoriatic nail lesions characterised by pitting of the nails. Psoriatic arthritis is said to be a sero-negative spondyloarthropathy. The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... Human Leukocyte Antigen B*27 (subtypes B*2701-2724) is a class I surface antigen encoded by the B locus in the MHC on chromosome 6. ... Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to attack the joints. ... Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation) is a group of conditions that affect the health of the bone joints in the body. ... Spondyloarthropathies are a group of related inflammatory joint disease associated with the MHC class I molecule HLA-B27. ...

Psoriatic arthritis can develop at any age, however on average it tends to appear about 10 years after the first signs of psoriasis. For the majority of people this is between the ages of 30 and 50, but it can also affect children. Men and women are equally affected by this condition. In about one in seven cases the arthritis symptoms may occur before any skin involvement.

As well as causing joint inflammation, psoriatic arthritis can cause Tendonitis and a sausage-like swelling of the digits known as dactilytis. Tendonitis (also tenonitis or tendinitis) is an inflammation of a tendon. ... Dactylytis is a sausage-shaped swelling of the fingers and toes, and can be painful. ...

Types of Psoriatic Arthritis

There are five main types of psoriatic arthritis; these are symmetric, asymmetric, distal interphalangeal predominant (DIP), spondylitis and arthritis mutilans.

Symmetric

This type accounts for around 50% of cases, and affects joints on both sides of the body simultaneously. This type is most similar to Rheumatoid arthritis and is disabling in around 50% of all cases. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to attack the joints. ...

Asymmetric

This type affects around 35% of patients and is generally mild. This type does not occur in the same joints on both sides of the body and usually only involves less than 3 joints.

Arthritis Mutilans

Affects less than 5% of patients and is a severe, deforming and destructive arthritis. This condition can progress over months or years causing severe joint damage.

Spondylitis

This type is characterised by stiffness of the spine or neck, but can also affect the hands and feet, in a similar fashion to symmetric arthritis.

Distal Interphalangeal Predominant

This type of psoriatic arthritis is found in about 5% of patients, and is characterised by inflammation and stiffness in the joints nearest to the ends of the fingers and toes. Nail changes are often marked.

Treatments

The underlying process in psoriatic arthritis is inflammation, therefore treatments are directed at reducing and controlling inflammation. NSAIDs such as diclofenac and naproxen are usually the first line medication. Inflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection or irritation and may be referred to as the innate cascade. ... Inflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection or irritation and may be referred to as the innate cascade. ... Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs, are drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects - they reduce pain, fever and inflammation. ... Diclofenac (marketed as Voltaren®, Voltarol® and Cataflam®) is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) taken to reduce inflammation, such as in arthritis or acute injury. ... Naproxen (trade names: Aleve, Anaprox, Naprosyn, Naprelan) is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly used for the reduction of mild to moderate pain, fever, inflammation and stiffness caused by conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, ankylosing spondylitis, injury, menstrual cramps, tendinitis, bursitis, and the treatment...

Other treatment options for this disease include joint injections with corticosteroids - this is only practical if a few joints are affected. In medicine, a joint injection is a procedure used in the treatment of inflammatory joint conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, tendonitis, bursitis and occasionally osteoarthritis. ... In physiology, corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. ...

If acceptable control is not achieved using NSAIDs or joint injections then second line treatments with immunosuppressants such as methotrexate are added to the treatment regimen. An advantage of immunosuppressive treatment is that it also treats the psoriasis in addition to the arthropathy. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs, are drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects - they reduce pain, fever and inflammation. ... In medicine, a joint injection is a procedure used in the treatment of inflammatory joint conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, tendonitis, bursitis and occasionally osteoarthritis. ... Immunosuppression is the medical suppression of the immune system. ... Methotrexate (abbreviated MTX; formerly known as amethopterin) is an antimetabolite drug used in treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. ... An Arthropathy is a disease of a joint. ...

Recently, a new class of drugs called Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors have come available, for example, infliximab and etanercept. These are becomingly increasingly commonly used but are usually reserved for the most severe cases. In medicine, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα, cachexin or cachectin) is an important cytokine involved in systemic inflammation and the acute phase response. ... Infliximab (Remicade®) is a powerful drug used to treat auto-immune disorders like Crohns disease and rheumatoid arthritis. ... Etanercept (Enbrel®, co-marketed by Amgen and Wyeth) is a recombinant human soluble tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) receptor. ...