State of art and future challenges to early intervention, and management in patients with psoriasis at increased risk of transition to psoriatic arthritis: a review

Introduction: Up to 30% of patients with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA) during their lifetime, which can result in irreversible joint damage. Early identification and interception of PsA could potentially decrease inflammation and progression of structural damage. This review summarizes the state of the art on psoriasis-to-PsA transition and discusses the challenges to prevent and early manage PsA. Areas covered: One primary hurdle clinicians face is their inability to establish an early PsA diagnosis because of the poor specificity of symptoms. Arthralgia, severe psoriasis, a history of uveitis, nail psoriasis, scalp psoriasis, having a first-degree relative with PsA, familial aggregation, genetic factors, specific skin phenotypes, mechanical stress, and obesity confer an increased risk of PsA transition. However, underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remain poorly defined. Expert opinion: The evolution from cutaneous to synovio-entheseal inflammation in patients with psoriasis presents an opportunity to investigate the critical events linked to arthritis development. Further efforts should be made to clearly define early PsA and identify patients with psoriasis at increased PsA risk. Machine learning and artificial intelligence may analyze and integrate different factors to more objectively estimate the possible risk of psoriasis to PsA transition for each patient.