[Stress and the molecular basis of psychosomatics]

Stress and skin-an inseparable pair, this is how many of our patients perceive it and even clinicians are willing to integrate psychosomatic aspects into their recommendations if nothing from the somatic repertoire provides sufficient treatment. How the stress reaches the skin however is still an enigmatic matter to most lay people and professionals alike. Interestingly, psychoneuroimmunological research since the 1970s has produced a flood of valuable data. We now know that stressors, be it biochemical or psychoemotional, always elicit a neuroendocrine stress reaction with consequences for the immune response and therefore especially chronic inflammatory skin diseases. Here we employ allergic inflammation/atopic dermatitis and psoriasis as instructive model diseases to discuss basic mechanisms of molecular psychosomatic effects on chronic inflammation. The aim is to enhance pathogenetic understanding and open the door for the development and employment of integrated therapeutic concepts in dermatology.