What Causes Psoriasis and How to Avoid It?
Skin cells continuously die and get replaced by new cells. The normal cycle of skin cell replacement is 21-28 days. Psoriasis is a skin disorder in which the skin cells get reproduced much faster but then die within 2-6 days. This creates skin replacement cycle imbalance in the affected area.
The dead cells begin to build up on the skin causing thick and flaky patches (plaques). The plaques become red due increased blood supply to the rapidly multiplying skin cells.
Why skin cells begin to multiply abnormally so fast is not totally understood yet. Exactly what causes psoriasis is also not very clear, but it is understood that a combination of many different factors contributes to the development of this disease.
Following are the major causes:
Causes of Psoriasis 1 -Heredity
Genetics is considered one of the major factors in about one third of the cases. If both the parents of a child had the condition then there is a 50-50 chance of the child inheriting it. If only one of the parents has psoriasis then there are one in four to one in ten chances of the child inheriting it.
When genes functions differently then a disorder appears. Mutations on genes normally cause certain cells to function differently. There are nine known gene mutations that may be reasons for causing psoriasis. PSORS-1 is one of these mutations on the cell chromosome 6, appears to be a major factor in causing psoriasis.
Causes of Psoriasis 2 –Immune System
Recent studies suggest that psoriasis is a disorder of the immune system called autoimmune disease. In the autoimmune disease the immune system, that is supposed to defend the body from bacteria, viruses and other invaders, begins to make a mistake by attacking the cells, tissues and organs of the body.
Why scientists believe that it is an autoimmune disease is because abnormally large numbers of t cells (a type of white blood cell) have been found in the red, flaky skin patches of people with psoriasis.
T cells are the ones that fight the invaders. Body releases them in millions when it senses the invasion by bacteria and viruses etc. The presence of abnormally large numbers of t cells in skin affected by psoriasis is an indication of immune system mistakenly attacking the skin thereby causing psoriasis.
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What Causes Psoriasis?