What about genes?

[Caroline]

Thanks girls and guys. So far as it is drying up after this limited answers up to now it seems as if it is going into the direction of 50/50

That is very interesting. I wonder if it will stay like this when more are able to answer.
I have the impression that a lot of people think that psoriasis is a pure genetic oriented disease, but from the measurement up to now, that cannot be true.

I hope still more will answer.

[jiml]

I think 14 votes in such a short time is a very good start

[Turnedlight]

I’m not sure how to answer this, no one I know of in my family has had it diagnosed, but thats not to say they were free of inflammatory conditions.
I shall say no one though there’s a small chance that a grandparent was misdiagnosed or something..

[Caroline]

I’m not sure how to answer this, no one I know of in my family has had it diagnosed, but thats not to say they were free of inflammatory conditions.
I shall say no one though there’s a small chance that a grandparent was misdiagnosed or something..

Thanks TL. Again very interesting to read that if there would be a genetic cause in you case, it is at least buried very deep. And it is pointing more in the direction of a different cause, being stress, bacteria, viruses or whatever.

[Turnedlight]

I’m willing to bet it starts with something to do with a bacteria or virus which has so far not been connected. Just look at helicobacter pylori. They didn’t use to connect stomach ulcers with an infection.

[Caroline]

I’m willing to bet it starts with something to do with a bacteria or virus which has so far not been connected. Just look at helicobacter pylori. They didn’t use to connect stomach ulcers with an infection.

Yes, TL. It is already known that the streptococcus and the staphylococcus are at least triggers or even maybe more causal with a number of people.
I just heard an interview on the radio of two people talking about Kim Kardashian, one is a well known dermatologist in the Netherlands. He said that it is a genetic driven disease, with about 60 genes that can have influence, but in the same sentence he said that anyone can get it.
For me.... that is contradictory.
And in our little poll we also see a kind of 50/50 situation, that there is a significant group without having ancestors with Psoriasis.

Hypothesis: If it is a genetic disease, then there is no reason that you will get Psoriasis if those genes are ok.
Our small poll and the doc shows: it seems that also people without ancestors with P can get it, the doc says: ‘anyone can get it’.
Conclusion: the hypothesis must be false.

[JohnB]

I can understand what you are implying Caroline, it could be what we see as Psoriasis may be fundamentally different in a genetically predisposed sufferer to a someone with a random flair up. It's just we don't understand the disease enough.
What I'm trying to say is both the hypothesis and the Doctors statement could both be true

[Caroline]

I can understand what you are implying Caroline, it could be what we see as Psoriasis may be fundamentally different in a genetically predisposed sufferer to a someone with a random flair up. It's just we don't understand the disease enough.
What I'm trying to say is both the hypothesis and the Doctors statement could both be true

What in my opiniion is true is that:

• The cause of psoriasis may be due to genetic predisposition, if your ancestors have it, you have a higher chance of getting it.
  
• Anybody, without genetic predisposition, can also get Psoriasis. Be it because of a bacterial or other cause. 
  

[Bill]

In some cases it could be that a virus or bacteria activates a gene that otherwise would have remained inactive. That could explain how people can go from no disease to guttate to no disease over a number of months.

[Turnedlight]

I also think you have to remember that going back to our grandparents, unless you have classic P with big plaques etc they may not have even gone to the doctors for it, and just assumed it was eczema or something.
It looks like you can have psoriasis all your life but it never be more than a few small problem areas so perhaps not everyone got a diagnosis.