Psoriasis is a chronic recurring disease, which usually manifests on the skin but may also affect the nails, the joints (5-30% of people with psoriasis) and the mucous membranes (1-2% of people with psoriasis).
The causes of psoriasis are yet unknown, but various studies suggest that psoriasis is transferred genetically. Relatives with psoriasis are found in about 50% of the people with psoriasis. Scientists have even managed to find some genes, which seem to be responsible for the course of psoriasis and even for the development of psoriatic arthritis.
One of the main psoriasis mechanisms is the abnormally fast production of the new skin cells by the body. The dead cells then build up and create plaques composed of thick layers of dead skin.
A person with psoriasis may never develop any actual psoriasis manifestations. Psoriasis may stay in the latent stage unless it is triggered by stress, skin trauma, an infectious disease, a sudden diet change, a sudden climate change, prolonged hypothermia and other factors.
Analysis of the blood and the skin of the people with psoriasis reveal certain deviations when compared to the people without psoriasis.
One of the most notable deviations is a high level of uric acid, which is elevated by a whole 20-30% in the blood of the people with psoriasis.
According to Professor, Dr. Lubert Stryer, uric acid levels with centuries have become higher in humans as an evolutionary replacement of Vitamin C functions in order to protect humans against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is body cell damage - a result of the cell oxidation by oxygen in various chemical reactions taking place in the presence of oxygen in our bodies.
Dr. Lubert Stryer is a neurobiology professor from the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Stryer has various noble honors, such as 2006 National Medal of Science, the American Chemical Society Award in Biological Chemistry, the Molecular Bioanalytics Award of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and others.
Research shows that Lower primates (lemurs etc.) have lower uric acid levels in their blood serum when compared to the higher primates (monkeys and humans) and other long-lived mammals.
Lower primates are known to have lower life spans and higher cancer rates when compared to the higher primates.
Does that mean that the uric acid protects the higher primates from the oxidative stress resulting in cancers?
Does that mean that the people with psoriasis are protected from the oxidative stress and from the cancer even better than the rest of the people?
We don't know that for sure, but that seems to be an intriguing and an exciting hypothesis.
People with psoriasis may possess various other benefits when compared to the people without psoriasis, all resulting from the high levels of the uric acid in the blood of the people with psoriasis. These benefits may include: high protection from the degenerative Central Nervous System disorders, such as Multiple sclerosis and Schizophrenia, extended lifespan and higher levels of intellectual activity.
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