Research > BioBank
Current studies using DNA from the
National Psoriasis Victor Henschel BioBank
The National Psoriasis Victor Henschel BioBank, started by the National Psoriasis Foundation in 2006, is a collection of DNA samples and clinical information used by scientists to advance the field of psoriasis genetics.
The first-ever release of BioBank DNA samples in 2010 brings millions of Americans struggling with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis one step closer to a cure. Scientists will use the samples for research that hopes to uncover the unknowns about the genetics of psoriatic disease and its causes.
Current research
Genes and psoriasis risk
James T. Elder, M.D., Ph.D., professor of molecular genetic dermatology in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Michigan Health System, and his research team received the first 1,250 BioBank DNA samples on Sept. 1, 2010. They will use them to identify new genes that increase a person's risk for developing psoriasis and also examine the connection between psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn's disease.
Genetic research and psoriasis treatments
Although scientists have uncovered links between certain genes and psoriasis susceptibility, there is still much to discover about psoriatic disease and its causes. Anne Bowcock, Ph.D., professor in the genetics, pediatrics and medicine departments at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., hopes to gain insight into these genetic elements with the use of 1,250 DNA samples collected for such research by the National Psoriasis Foundation.
"The ability to detect the association between psoriasis and a number of loci in the last few years with state-of-the-art genetic approaches suggests that we are on the right track in identifying the genetic basis of the disease," Dr. Bowcock said in a statement.