Evaluating this form of educational programme, by means of a single-centre RCT, indicates its added value in the longer term management of psoriasis.

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The new assessment method for KP, taking into account both history and clinical examination, seems to be a useful and valuable tool for assessing KP in daily practice. Our results support the hypothesis that KP may function as a clinical parameter to assess and predict the clinical profile and course of vitiligo.

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SB and MC contributed equally to this work.Abstract: Psoriasis is a complex inflammatory skin disease that presents a wide variety of clinical manifestations. Human b defensin-2 (hBD-2) is highly up-regulated in psoriatic lesions and has been defined as a biomarker for disease activity. We explored the potential benefits of targeting hBD-2 by topical application of DEFB4-siRNA-containing SECosomes in a bioengineered skinhumanized mouse model for psoriasis. A significant improvement in the psoriatic phenotype was observed by histological examination, with a normalization of the skin architecture and a reduction in the number and size of blood vessels in the dermal compartment. Treatment leads to the recovery of transglutaminase activity, filaggrin expression and stratum corneum appearance to the levels similar to those found in normal regenerated human skin. The availability of a reliable skin-humanized mouse model for psoriasis in conjunction with the use of the SECosome technology may provide a valuable preclinical tool for identifying potential therapeutic targets for this disease.