Summary
Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes itchy or sore patches of thick, red skin with silvery scales. You usually get them on your elbows, knees, scalp, back, face, palms and feet, but they can show up on other parts of your body.
Some people with psoriasis have psoriatic arthritis. It causes pain, stiffness, and swelling of the joints. It is often mild, but can sometimes be serious and affect many joints. The joint and skin problems don’t always happen at the same time.
Your doctor will do a physical exam and imaging tests to diagnose psoriatic arthritis. There is no cure, but medicines can help control inflammation and pain. In rare cases, you might need surgery to repair or replace damaged joints.
Start Here
- Psoriatic Arthritis (American College of Rheumatology)Also in Spanish
- Psoriatic Arthritis
(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)Also in Spanish
Genetics
- Psoriatic arthritis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Statistics and Research
- Arthritis by the Numbers: Book of Trusted Facts and Figures (Arthritis Foundation) – PDF
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Arthritis, Psoriatic (National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Using ultrasound to define inflammatory and non-inflammatory phenotypes in difficult-to-treat psoriatic…
- Article: Men with psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and axial spondylarthritis have more…
- Article: Diagnostic accuracy of machine learning approaches to identify psoriatic arthritis: a…
- Psoriatic Arthritis — see more articles
Find an Expert
- Arthritis Foundation: Local Office Directory (Arthritis Foundation)
- Find a Dermatologist (American Academy of Dermatology)
- Find a Rheumatologist (American College of Rheumatology)
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish
Women
- Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
Patient Handouts
- Psoriatic arthritis (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
Topic Image
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
Related Health Topics
National Institutes of Health
The primary NIH organization for research on Psoriatic Arthritis is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Disclaimers
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