Trace elements status in psoriasis and their relationship with the severity of the disease

Abstract

Background: Psoriasis is a common and chronic inflammatory skin disease that has profound adverse effects on patients’ wellbeing. Trace elements are essential to biochemical processes in the body and are involved in immunological and inflammatory reactions such as keratinization and melanin formation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the essential metals in psoriasis in comparision with healthy controls. Method: We investigated serum levels of zinc, copper, and magnesium in 40 psoriatic patients and age and sex matched controls. Result: Psoriatic patients showed significantly higher serum levels of copper / zinc and lower magnesium in comparison with the control group. No significant differences were seen in copper and zinc levels. There was no correlation between serum levels of these elements and psoriasis severity except for zinc; the serum level of zinc was inversely correlated with psoriasis severity. Conclusion: This study demonstrated some disturbances in serum levels of metals in psoriasis. More studies are required to clarify the importance of these findings in etiopathogenesis or treatment.