Use of Total-Body PET to Quantify Systemic and Cutaneous Inflammation in Psoriasis Patients Before and After Intervention With a Nutritionally Balanced Diet
University of California, Davis
Summary
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the skin and joints in 2-3 % of people in the United States. This inflammation of the skin, joints, and blood vessels in patients with psoriasis has been measured by older PET Scan technology but with limitations. With the new EXPLORER PET scanner technology, the investigators are testing to see if the EXPLORER is better than previous PET scanners and improve our ability to assess inflammation in patients. Also, it is known that the typical Western Diet - high in saturated fats, added sugars, and low in fiber - contributes to obesity and inflammation worldwide. There is evidence in animals that these signs of inflammation are reversible within 4 weeks when changed to a more balanced diet. Thus, this study aims to assess whether there are detectable decreases in inflammation of the skin and body of psoriasis patients who usually eat a Western Diet on an EXPLORER PET scan following 6 weeks of a more balanced diet.
Description
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the skin and joints of up to 2-3% of the US population and well known to be associated with multiple medical co-morbidities, including cardiac disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Skin, joint, vascular and organ inflammation has been measured in patients with psoriasis using older PET imaging methodologies4,5 and correlated with disease6. The Hwang lab has shown that mice triggered with systemic exposure to IL-23, a known pathogenic cytokine in human psoriasis, will develop PET-detectable signs of inflammation in joints, and, that this…