Spondyloarthritis

Psoriatic Arthritis

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Signs and Symptoms

Psoriatic arthritis is an inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis -- a chronic skin and nail disease that causes a scaly, itchy skin rash on the elbows, knees and scalp. The condition also may case pitting, or thickening of the finger and toe nails. People with psoriatic arthritis may experience either the skin or joint symptoms first, or both symptoms may occur simultaneously.

The exact cause of psoriatic arthritis is unknown, but the condition, like other forms of arthritis, may be an autoimmune disorder, where the immune system mistakes healthy cells and tissue for foreign invaders and wrongly attacks them. Genetic and environmental factors also may play a role in the development of the disease.

The joint pain associated with psoriatic arthritis often causes stiffness, especially in the morning. About a third of people with psoriatic arthritis also experience neck or back pain and stiffness.

Although the severity and range of symptoms of psoriatic arthritis can vary in each person, common symptoms include:

• Stiffness, pain, swelling and tenderness of the joints and surrounding soft tissue
• Reduced range of motion
• Morning stiffness and tiredness
• Nail changes, including small indentations in the nail, called pitting, or lifting of the nail, which occurs in 80 percent of people with psoriatic arthritis
• Redness and pain of the eye

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated May 8, 2007