[Status of tissue microcirculation in psoriatic arthritis]

Microcirculation (the skin and skeletal muscle) was studied using a method of 133Xe clearance from the interstitial depot in 35 patients with psoriatic arthritis. It showed significant microcirculatory disorders expressed in a statistically significant decrease in the effective cutaneous blood flow in unaffected skin zones (mostly in women and in a high inflammatory activity of the process) and in the muscular microcirculation especially noted in the period of reactive hyperemia. The results obtained indicate the presence of generalized involvement of the microcirculatory bed vessels in psoriatic arthritis.