The Gut and Psoriatic Disease Connection

Episode 136, titled “Gut Health, Psoriasis, and Psoriatic Arthritis,” takes a deep dive into the gut microbiome with Jose Scher, M.D., Director of the Psoriatic Arthritis Center and Director of the Microbiome Center for Rheumatology and Autoimmunity at NYU Langone Health in New York.

In the conversation with NPF podcast host Corene Pettit, Dr. Scher discusses how current research has started to take a closer look at the gut microbiome (bacteria, fungi, and viruses living in your gut), with relationship to disease. Research animals who lived in conventional environments were observed to develop skin inflammation and arthritis at a much higher rate than those living in highly controlled, germ-free environments.

“And so that’s how we started to be intrigued and pursue this in humans, because it made sense that the microbes there had a role in the disease progression,” says Dr. Scher.

Environment is not the only factor. During the podcast, Dr. Scher points to genetics playing a large role in both gut microbiome makeup and the relationship to certain diseases like Crohn’s disease or inflammatory bowel disease.

“What’s missing in [the gut of] people with inflammatory bowel disease – some of those microbes – are also not found in people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. So, there is a relationship at the microbial level,” Dr. Scher says.

In this episode, Dr. Scher also discusses the practical side of the subject and what you might try in order to help create a healthy and diverse gut microbiome.

Before changing your diet you should speak with your health care provider.

Jose Scher, M.D., was not interviewed for this article. Quotes and information come from Psound Bytes™ podcast episode 136.