Serum uric acid levels in untreated and PUVA-treated patients with psoriasis

Elevated uric acid serum levels are a frequent finding in psoriasis and, despite some reports to the contrary, it is generally believed that an association does exist between hyperuricemia and psoriasis. It seems a convincing idea that the rapid epidermal turnover in psoriasis might lead to an increased purine breakdown and may thus influence the uric acid serum levels. Consequently, a relationship might well be expected between hyperuricemia and the extent of psoriatic skin involvement. The present study was undertaken in order to prove or disprove such an assumption and to investigate the influence of oral photochemotherapy on the serum uric acid levels in psoriatic subjects.