RESEARCH - Four new psoriasis hotspots identified

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Four New Psoriasis 'Hotspots' Identified By U-M Geneticists

Discovery may aid in developing new therapies

ANN ARBOR, MI

18 Oct 2010

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scientists at the University of Michigan

Heath System and their collaborators have found four new DNA

" hotspots " that may one day help guide new treatments for psoriasis,

one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the country.

Using cutting-edge methods to peer into the hidden genetic

underpinnings of the disabling and disfiguring disease, the research,

published in Nature Genetics, further maps the as-yet unknown

territories of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

The findings could lead to new drug targets and tailored treatments

for the skin disease, says T. Elder, M.D., Ph.D., the Kirk D.

Wuepper Professor of Molecular Genetic Dermatology and lead

investigator on the study, which included researchers from the

Department of Dermatology and School of Public Health.

" This is a hot topic in genetics these days, " Elder says. " Even when

you add up all the genes that have been found around the world so far,

they only account for about 40 percent of the genetic liability to

psoriasis. The question among geneticists continues to be, 'Where is

the dark matter?' "

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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/four-new-psoriasis-hotspots-identified-b\

y-u-m-geneticists-105193874.html

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