Psychoneuroimmunology of stress and psychodermatologic disorders

Abstract

Psychoneuroimmunology is an emerging subspecialty of immunology that has a major significance for any physician including psychiatrists and dermatologists. As nowhere the finer imprints of neuroimmunology become visibly apparent then in form of a primary skin disease caused by stress or a secondary skin lesion caused also by stress but mediated through a psychiatric disease. As dermatologist we know that a significant number of our patients wanting a cure for their dermatologic issues comes to us with heavy burden of stress and psychological issues perpetuating their dermatologic condition making it impossible to make much progress in treating these conditions. We are still at the beginning of our understanding of the sophisticated interactions between skin, body, and psyche and how they play a role in our day to day practice but psychoneuroimmunology helps us understand these multidirectional processes which are interdependent on each other and unless we pay attention to some very basic issues like th role of stress in our patient’s lives and how it impact their disease process, compliance with treatment, response to treatment and improvement in their quality of life we may not be fully able to help our patients. This chapter provides a brief overview of psychoneuroimmunology especially in context of psychodermatologic conditions. It reviews psychological perspectives of skin disease while examining interconnections between skin and mind, and different components of psychoneuroimmunology, including neuroendocrine system, central and peripheral nervous systems, and immunology.