Psoriasis and urticaria WCD2015: a (sk)insider’s guide

What not to miss at this year’s World Congress of Dermatology

For the 23^rd time since their first meeting way back in 1889, the International League of Dermatologists are convening in Vancouver for WCD 2015. Taking place over five days at the enormous Vancouver Congress Center (it’s grassed, six-acre roof includes four beehives), WCD is the place for cutting-edge dermatology research in general – plus psoriasis and urticaria in particular.

This year, attendees will be joined by a group of ‘skinsiders.’ They’ll offer you an unparalleled, insider’s view of discussions on psoriasis and urticaria at WCD2015, based on their experience with the disease. Dr Katie Belezney¹ (a practicing rheumatologist and native Vancouverite) heads up the skinsider team, joined by patients who have either chronic urticaria or psoriasis. Together, the skinsiders will be tweeting posts and articles using the hashtag #skinsider. They’ll offer a fresh perspective on events and are a really great way of getting the inside track of what’s happening at this year’s congress, whether you’re there or not.

Both psoriasis and urticaria feature prominently on a packed agenda at Vancouver. For those interested in either (or both) conditions – as attendees or enthusiasts at home – here are a few potential skinsider highlights from the presentations and posters on show for the 16,000 attendees.

Urticaria in focus

The presence of such a range of posters, presentations and symposia at WCD2015 on the topic of urticaria underlies the growing prominence of this skin disorder. Discussions will cover a range of topics and subtypes, including contact, cold and solar urticaria as well as chronic idiopathic urticaria and chronic spontaneous urticaria.

In this final category, Prof Hee Chul Eun of the Republic of Korea will bring his more than 20 years’ experience in dermatology to bear, chairing a debate into the benefits of minimal versus extensive laboratory testing in chronic urticaria. Elsewhere Dr Duo-qin Wang of China discusses the involvement of the blood coagulation system in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria / chronic spontaneous urticaria: the role of thrombin-induced histamine release from mast cells as a trigger for the condition.

Away from the laboratory, an entire symposium (chaired by Prof Michihiro Hide of Japan) hopes to cover the history, diagnosis, classification, causes, treatment and future of urticaria in what’s to be very packed two and-a-half hours.

Skin front and center

Psoriasis features in one of the prestigious plenary sessions, with Dr Daniel Kastner (of the USA) using his ‘distinguished speaker’ session to discuss the topic of “auto-inflammatory syndromes and the skin”. A highly regarded researcher (and member of the National Academy of Science² and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies),³ Dr Kastner’s group has been instrumental in defining the role of interleukins in auto-inflammatory disease.

Remembering the patient perspective

Alongside scientific and clinical research, discussion of life with dermatological conditions (like psoriasis and urticaria) is understandably a frequent discussion topic at WCD. In two separate talks, Dr Samantha Gontijo Guerra of Canada and Dr Pranaya Bagde of India will discuss the links between depression and dermatological disease. Later on in the week, an entire two-hour workshop will examine quality of life and disability in dermatology.

Dr Surajit Gorai of India will also tackle the contentious issue of stress in psoriasis – does it have a role in causing and aggravating psoriasis? Finally, Dr Alison Potts Bleakman of the USA discusses the links between touch avoidance and quality of life in people with psoriasis, perhaps building on previous work by Gupta and colleagues⁴ showing depression scores were higher in psoriasis patients who had experienced an episode where a person had consciously avoided touching them.

But remembering the clinician perspective too

Prof Peter Van de Kerkhof⁵ of The Netherlands presents one of many talks dedicated to best clinical practice for psoriasis treatment. He’ll present quantitative data on the clinician perspective in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, based on data taken from a large European and North American cliniacal survey⁶ of views on the impact of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis on their patients. Elsewhere, a multinational workshop will discuss best use of biologic therapy in patients with psoriasis.

Back to basics

Courses are a big feature of WCD2015, allowing delegates to refresh their knowledge of the basic science that lies behind clinical diseases. A large chunk of the ‘practical immunology’ course is devoted to two topics: the role of T cells and infections in psoriasis. The two talks are presented by Dr Christina Zielinksi of Germany and Dr Lanqi Wang of China, respectively.

Elsewhere, Prof Frank Oliver Nestle (from the UK) chairs a symposium exploring the “pathogenesis of psoriasis – what’s clinically relevant?” Over the course of its three hours, the symposium will explore topics including the role of personalised medicine and targeted therapies in patient treatment of psoriasis and the importance of genetics and environment on the pathogenesis of the condition.

You can get the skinsider view of WCD2015 (and become a skinsider by joining the conversation yourself) using the hashtag #skinsider. This post is just a taster of what’s being covered at 2015’s World Congress of Dermatology. For a full list of the programme visit www.derm2015.org/calendar.