A study by Inserm, CNRS and Paris Cité University published on Tuesday, September 3 in the scientific journal Nature Communications reports the discovery of the role played by a hormone in the onset of psoriasis. This offers therapeutic hope.
New hope for the treatment of a disease that is still incurable: psoriasis. In a study published this Tuesday, September 3 in the journal Nature Communications, French researchers report a discovery. It opens the door to new comfort treatments for this common skin disease, but which sometimes degrades quality of life.
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease. It affects 2 to 3% of the world’s population and is characterized by an overproduction of epidermal cells, which results in red patches, sometimes very extensive.
“Despite many treatment options available to improve patient care, psoriasis remains a chronic disease today, which cannot be definitively cured,” the researchers recall in a press release.
The role of hepcidin or “iron hormone”
The documented discovery is that of the role played by a hormone in the development of psoriasis. Hepcidin, or “iron hormone”, is “expressed in the skin of patients with psoriasis, particularly in severe forms such as pustular psoriasis”, as highlighted by the “Iron and Immunity” team at the Cochin Institute.
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Carole Peyssonnaux, research director at Inserm, describes the “key role” of this hormone in “triggering” the disease as follows:
“Hepcidin produced by the epidermis plays a crucial role in iron retention in skin cells. Since iron is an essential metal for cell proliferation, this iron retention promotes the division of epidermal cells in ‘psoriatic’ skin.”
Hope for “maintenance treatment”
Although psoriasis cannot be eliminated permanently, it is possible to reduce the plaques that appear during flare-ups and to contain its development, thanks to various treatments.
The French discovery could thus, if consolidated through further research, lead to new methods of treatment. The aim of these drugs would be to block the action of hepcidin, a particularly useful avenue for the most acute and resistant forms.
The products “could be used as maintenance treatment after a flare-up or, during remission phases, to prevent the recurrence of the disease,” concludes Carole Peyssonnaux.
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