ABSTRACT
Background: Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that is often associated with systemic
manifestations, especially arthritis. An estimated 2 percent of U.S. adults are affected, and the
prevalenceis about equal between men and women. Objective: To evaluate trace elements zinc &
copper levels in sera of Iraqi patients with psoriasis and the extent of the disease.
Material and methods: Thirty six subjects were involved in this case control study. Sixteen psoriatic
patients (10 males &6 females) with a mean age of 36 ± 15.5 years and control group was comprised
of twenty volunteers( 11 males & 9 females) with a mean age of 31.1±17.4 years. Results: There was
a highly significant decrease of mean serum level of Zn in G2 (0.068 ± 0.038μg/g p value <0.0001)
compared with mean serum level of it in G1 (1.036 ± 0.16μg/g).There was a highly significant
decrease of mean serum level of Cu in G2 (0.036 ± 0.019 μg/g p value<0.0001) compared with mean
serum level of it in G1 (1.042 ± 0.20 μg/g). Conclusion: Psoriatic lesions retain a high content of zinc
compared with uninvolved skin suggesting an imbalance in zinc distribution between serum and
psoriatic lesions, exfoliation of large quantities of skin can thus decrease the serum levels of zinc. The
serum copper findings in psoriasis merely represent a non-specific response to an inflammatory process.
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2016
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