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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.

Sec. Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1663015

The Frequency of Psoriasis in Australian Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Provisionally accepted
Varitsara MangkorntongsakulVaritsara Mangkorntongsakul1,2*Ariadna Fontes VillalbaAriadna Fontes Villalba2,3Turlough MontagueTurlough Montague2Olivia CharltonOlivia Charlton4Chun-Ting Justin KwongChun-Ting Justin Kwong5Helen Marie McGuireHelen Marie McGuire6,7Venkatesha VenkateshaVenkatesha Venkatesha8Geoffrey HerkesGeoffrey Herkes2,9Saxon SmithSaxon Smith3John ParrattJohn Parratt2
  • 1Faculty of Medicine and Health, Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Darlington, Australia
  • 2Department of Neurology, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, Australia
  • 3The University of Sydney, Darlington, Australia
  • 4Department of Dermatology, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, Australia
  • 5Faculty of Medicine and Health, Westmead Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Darlington, Australia
  • 6Charles Perkin Centre, The University of Sydney, Darlington, Australia
  • 7Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • 8Northern Sydney Local Health District Executive, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, Australia
  • 9Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Darlington, Australia

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Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Although psoriasis and psoriasiform dermatitis are reported in MS patients, the prevalence of the diseases is uncertain globally and unstudied in Australia. This study aims to determine the frequency of psoriasis in a clinic-based cohort of Australian MS patients. Methods: A survey was conducted on 204 consecutive MS patients aged 18 and over who attended a tertiary MS clinic in Northern Sydney from July 2018 to December 2022. Results: A total of 204 patients were examined, comprising 137 female (67.2%) and 67 male (32.8%). The mean age was 48.8 years (SD = 13.6). Psoriasis was identified in 13.7% (28/204; 95% CI: 9.63% to 19.20%). Discussion: The frequency of psoriasis in MS is high and may be underestimated, given that many more patients have symptoms without signs. This implies an immunopathological link between the two conditions and is worthy of further study.

Keywords: Australian population, Multiple Sclerosis, Psoriasis, neuroimmunology, Epidemiology study, autoimmune disaseses

Received: 10 Jul 2025; Accepted: 04 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Mangkorntongsakul, Fontes Villalba, Montague, Charlton, Kwong, McGuire, Venkatesha, Herkes, Smith and Parratt. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Varitsara Mangkorntongsakul, vvaritsara@gmail.com

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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