Lecture 22: Skin Conditions Flashcards
What are the two main layers of the skin?
- Epidermis
- Dermis: oil gland, nerve, sweat gland
What are the functions of the skin?
- Barrier to water
- Controls temperature
- Sweat glands control fluid balance
- Nerve endings control sensations
- Langerhans and dendritic cells involved in immunological defence
- Protection from UV through melanocytes
What is terminal differentiation?
Keratinocytes differentiate and die by losing thier nucleus to become outer skin
What are the four layers of the skin?
- Basal - proliferation
- Spinous - Early differentiation
- Granular - Late differentiation
- Cornified - cornification
How do disease conditions stop skin differentiation?
It takes 28 days for keratinocytes to become the cornified layer. Interuption to this process means terminal differntiation is not complete. So we have proliferating keratinocytes as your cornified layer. They are leaky, dry and not smooth as they dont express the right proteins
Describe the inflammatory component of skin conditions
- Inflammation causes the influx of white blood cells. This causes release of inflammatory mediators (eg IL1, TNF alpha and PGs). This promotes proliferation and keratinocytes dont terminally differentiate. This increases blood flow which causes redness, and swelling due to capillary leakiness and itch and pain.
Describe the immunology involved in skin conditions
The innate immune system recognized parts of the infectious agent through pattern recognition receptors on white blood cells, endothelial cells etc. Activation of PRR initiates the inflammatory response and passes the recognition onto the adaptive system. The adaptive system generates T and B cells which fights the infectious agent
What is the general pharmacology used for skin conditions?
- Emollients: Provide a layer of oil to slow water loss. They increase water holding capacity and act as a lubricant
- Directly attack the cause eg infections
- Combat inflammation
- Attack the immone problem eg cytokines or immune cells
What is the treatment for seborrheic dermatitis?
- Antifungal cream: ketoconazole
- Topical corticosteroid for inflammtion
- Medicated shampoo: Ketoconazole or coal tar extract to cut down inflammation
What is psoriasis?
A chronic, relapsing and remitting papulo squamous skin disease which can appear on any part of the skin eg knees, elbows, scalp, back. It may be initiated by hypertension, obesity, smoking, alcohol, mental health. It is T cell mediated. Th1 cells secrete cytokines TNF alpha, IL1B and IL6. Dendritic cells release IL12 to direct CD4+ T cell to TH1. The inflammation causes keratinocytes to proliferate. Keratinocytes also release inflammatory mediators
What are the topical treatments for psorosis?
- Anti-inflammatory topical agents: Corticosteroids, retinoids (Tazorten)
- Slowing skin cell growth: Vitamin D analogues (calcipotirol), Dithranol
- Reducing scaling/ itching: emollient, coal tar
What is the treatment for severe psoriasis?
- Narrowband UVB light: converts TH1 to TH2
- Systemic ciclosporin/ Cyclosporin: A calcineurin inhibitor, stops IL2 production in CD4+ T cells, this stops proliferation and expansion of T cells
- Systemic methotrexate: To kill T cells and dendritic cells
- Biologics: Injected into skin, Imfliximab/ Adalimumab, etanercept, Ustekinumab
What is infliximab/ Adalimumab against?
Anti TNF alpha antibodies
What is etanercept against?
TNFa receptor fusion protein - gets rid of TNF alpha
What is ustekinumab against?
IL12/ IL23 antibody