Papers of the Week

TNF-α is an important mediator in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and polymorphisms influence its transcription and could be implicated in psoriasis risk and modify certain aspects of disease, such as age at onset of psoriasis vulgaris and disease severity. Six TNF-α single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in promoter region has been identified and studied but with discordant results. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the polymorphisms in TNF-α (-238 (rs361525), -308 (rs1800629), -857 (rs1799724), -1031 (rs1799964)) are associated with gravity, prurity, early onset or response to drug therapy in psoriasis in Caucasian Italian patients.