Medicina darwiniana y psoriasis / Darwinian Medicine and Psoriasis

La medicina evolutiva o darwiniana entiende algunos procesos patológicos como intentos del organismo por solucionar un problema o generar mecanismos de defensa. Algunas enfermedades pueden haber representado una ventaja en ciertos estadios de la evolución humana. La psoriasis es una enfermedad poligénica con alta penetrancia y una prevalencia de hasta el 3% en las poblaciones de origen caucásico. Se ha descrito que las lesiones de psoriasis generan una mayor capacidad para la curación de las heridas, y de lucha contra la infección. Se ha postulado que, en ciertas poblaciones, los genes promotores de psoriasis han sido seleccionados ante la presión ambiental de ciertas infecciones como la lepra, el sida y la tuberculosis. La tendencia de los enfermos con psoriasis grave al desarrollo de síndrome metabólico puede representar un intento de reacción ante presiones ambientales y señales de alarma que desencadenan resistencia insulínica y ahorro de grasa

Darwinian medicine, or evolutionary medicine, regards some pathological conditions as attempts by the organism to solve a problem or develop defense mechanisms. At certain stages of human evolution, some diseases may have conferred a selective advantage. Psoriasis is a high-penetrance multigenic disorder with prevalence among whites of up to 3%. Psoriatic lesions have been linked with enhanced wound-healing qualities and greater capacity to fight infection. Leprosy, tuberculosis, and infections caused by viruses similar to human immunodeficiency virus have been postulated as environmental stressors that may have selected for psoriasis-promoting genes in some human populations. The tendency of patients with severe psoriasis to develop metabolic syndrome may reflect the body’s attempt to react to environmental stresses and warning signs by triggering insulin resistance and fat storage

Calcinosis cutis in a newborn with transient pseudohypoparathyroidism.

Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) is a heterogenous group of disorders characterized by hypocalcemia with hyperphosphatemia, increased serum concentration of parathyroid hormone (PTH), and insensitivity to the biological activity of PTH. Calcinosis cutis, the cutaneous deposition of calcium salts in the dermis, is a rare clinical symptom in infancy. The deposition of calcium in the skin may be classified as dystrophic, metastatic, idiopathic, and iatrogenic. Although a few infants with PHP and calcinosis cutis have been reported, to the authors' knowledge, the combination of neonatal transient PHP and calcinosis cutis associated with calcium treatment has not been previously reported. The authors report a newborn boy with transient PHP presenting with early hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, increased PTH levels, and calcinosis cutis after intravenous treatment of calcium gluconate.