Recent research suggests that much scalp psoriasis is untreated and patients may simply be suffering in silence. Psoriasis Psoriasis is a chronic, non-infectious, inflammatory skin disease. The condition affects approximately 2 per cent of the population. and men and women are affected in equal numbers. The disease can appear at any age, but starts most often between the ages of 15 and 40. Its course is unpredictable.
Some people experience one attack, but others have frequent exacerbations and remissions.
The cause of psoriasis is unknown but current theories favour a mechanism that involves the immune system, with activated T-cells playing a central role. Once the train of events has started, a series of changes take place in the skin. In addition, both the dermis and the epidermis are infiltrated with inflammatory cells and new blood vessels develop in the dermis. The end result of these changes is the characteristic thickened, inflamed, scaly skin that may be as much as 16 times as thick as normal skin. Triggers Patients commonly identify 'trigger' factors that can precipitate a flare-up of the disease.