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Psoriasis Psoriasis Basics

Psoriasis is now considered a disease of the immune system


Once thought to be a skin disorder, psoriasis is now understood as a disorder originating in the immune system. The overgrowth of the skin is caused by the interaction between a specialized immune cell, called a T-cell, and an antigen-presenting cell, which sets off a chain of immune events that lead to the red, itchy lesions we know as psoriasis. Psoriasis is now classified as an autoimmune disease that includes other diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes.