Psoriasis affects 2–4% of the population, with plaque psoriasis being the most prevalent clinical form. The linear type of psoriasis is quite uncommon. The literature on linear psoriasis (LP) is limited to case reports and statistics. For a large-scale study, researchers aimed to better understand LP. They obtained medical records from 14 French medical facilities of patients newly diagnosed clinically with LP, with or without histological support, between February 1 and July 31, 2015. They evaluated the clinical characteristics, therapies, and treatment effectiveness in each instance.
In all, 30 instances of LP were documented (mean age 26.8, 13 males). The average age at the commencement of LP was 20.0, with 18 developing LP as a youngster. Ten of the patients had psoriasis in their family, and two had psoriatic arthritis. A total of 19 patients had linear onset with accompanying classical psoriasis; these were referred to as “superimposed” LP. The remaining 11 instances were labeled “isolated” LP because they were not connected with classical psoriasis. LP occurred in four of the six instances when the patient was taking systemic treatment: methotrexate (n=2), etanercept (n=1), or infliximab (n=1). Topical steroids were efficacious in 76% of instances, while systemic therapy was successful in 66%. Treatments for LP were less successful than for conventional psoriasis.
The study showed a large variety of LP using two profiles: isolated LP and overlaid LP. Clinical response was generally elicited by topical treatment, with relative resistance to systemic therapy. Methotrexate and anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy may be able to reveal LP.
Reference:link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40257-018-0354-9
