MEDICAL RESEARCH ON THE INTESTINE/PSORIASIS CONNECTION

INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY

Edgar Cayce is not alone in recognizing the that toxins leaking form the intestines are involved in psoriasis.  The technical term for leaky intestines is “intestinal permeability.”   Several researchers have written on this subject in the medical journals.  Here is a brief summary of that literature.
 
Humbert et al. (1991) noted, “A  possible relationship between intestinal structure and function in the pathogenesis of psoriasis has recently brought about considerable interest.”  They studied the intestines of 15 psoriatic patients and 15 healthy subjects and concluded, “The  difference  in  intestinal permeability between psoriatic  patients  and  controls could be due to alterations in the small intestinal epithelium of psoriatics” (p. 324).
 
Person and Bernhard (1986), noted that the “pustular  dermatitis  associated with small bowel bypass surgery and the  cutaneous  manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease are well known and  generally  assumed  to  be due to the absorption of microbial antigens from  the  bowel.”  They hypothesized that the association of intestinal and dermatological pathology “may be the result of minor perturbations of mucosal permeability  or  the  failure  of  locally  produced  dimeric serum IgA to inactivate  bacterial  or  dietary  antigens.  Such  disparate  entities as Reiter’s   syndrome,   psoriasis,   pyoderma  gangrenosum,  and  ankylosing spondylitis,  as  well  as  the  pustular  eruptions  of Behcet’s syndrome, pustular   psoriasis,   and   lithium   therapy,   may  share  this  common pathogenesis” (p.559).  This particular research approach is an excellent example of co-morbidity and nonspecificity.  In other words, the same cause may produce a variety of symptoms and syndromes.
 
Yates, Watkinson and Kelman (1982) also noted co-morbidity and nonspecificity in an article entitled, “Further  evidence  for  an association between psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.”  To test the hypothesis that these three illnesses are related, they studied 204 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (116 with Crohn’s disease and 88 with ulcerative colitis) and 204 age and sex matched controls.  Although their research did not directly address the question of intestinal permeability, they did conclude: “The prevalance of psoriasis in Crohn’s disease (II.2%) and in ulcerative colitis (5.7%), was significantly greater than in the control group (1.5%). The prevalence of psoriasis in first degree relatives of patients with inflammatory bowel disease was also increased.  It is suggested that there is a relationship between psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis, sacroiliitis, peripheral arthropathy and inflammatory bowel disease, which may be explained by common genetic factors. (p. 323)”

REFERENCES AND SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barry, R. E., Salmon, P. R., Read, A. E. & Warin, R. P.  (1971).  Mucosal architecture of the small bowel in cases of psoriasis.  Gut, 12(11), p873-7.

Barry, R. M., Salmon, P. R. & Read, A. E.   (1971).  Small bowel mucosal changes in psoriasis. Gut, 12(6), p495.

Bedi, T. R., Bhutani, L. K., Kandhari, K. C. & Tandon, B. N.  (1974).  Small bowel in skin diseases.  Indian Journal of  Medical Research,  62(1), p142-9.

de Vos, R. J., de Boer, W. A. &  Haas,  F. D.  (1995).  Is there a relationship between psoriasis and coeliac disease?  Journal of Internal Medicine, 237(1), p. 118.

Fry, L.  (1970).  The gut and the skin.  Postgraduate Medical Journal, 46(541), p664-70.

Humbert, P., Bidet, A., Treffel, P., Drobacheff, C. & Agache, P.  (1991).  Intestinal permeability in patients with psoriasis.   Journal of Dermatological Science, 2(4), p.324-6.

Madanagopalan, N., Shantha, M., Rao, U. P. & Thambiah, A. S.  (1973).  Peroral  jejunal mucosal biopsy in dermatological and some non-diarrhoeal diseases.  Australian Journal of Dermatology, 14(1), p47-52.

Marks, J. & Shuster,  S.  (1971).  Intestinal malabsorption and the skin.  Gut, 12(11), p938-47.

Marks, J. & Shuster, S.  (1971).  Psoriatic enteropathy.  Archives of Dermatology, 103(6), p676-8.

Moll, J. M., Haslock, I., Macrae, I. F. & Wright, V.  (1974).  Associations between   ankylosing spondylitis,  psoriatic  arthritis, Reiter’s disease, the intestinal arthropathies, and Behcet’s syndrome.  Medicine, 53(5), p343-64.

O’Laughlin, J. C. & Di Giovanni, A. M.  (1979).  Psoriatic enteropathy: report of case and review of literature.   Journal of the American Osteopathic Association,  79(2), p107-11.

Person, J. R. & Bernhard, J. D.  (1986).  Autointoxication revisited.  Journal of the Americal Academy of Dermatology, 15(3), p559-63.

Salmon, P. R., Read, A. E. & Warin, R.  (1969).  Radiocarbon  estimation  of  lactose absorption: a survey of 104 patients with skin disease.  Gut, 10(12), p1052.
 
Shuster, S.  (1968).  Dermatogenic enteropathy.  New York State Journal of Medicine, 68(24), p3160-5.

Summerly, R. & Giles, C.  (1971).  Question of psoriatic enteropathy.  Archives of Dermatology, 103(6), p678-9.
 
Yates, V. M., Watkinson, G. & Kelman, A.  (1982).  Further  evidence  for  an association between psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.  British Journal of Dermatology, 106(3), p323-30.