ALLELIC INSTABILITY IN THE MITOSIS MODEL AND THE INHERITANCE OF PSORIASIS

Background: Allelic instability in mitosis has been proposed as a mode l for dominantly inherited diseases. Objective: Our purpose was to ana lyze our own and published data on the inheritance of psoriasis accord ing to the predictions of the allelic instability-in-mitosis model. Me thods: Frequency of psoriasis in father, mother, and siblings was extr acted or calculated from data in the literature. Our case records were reviewed and supplemented by telephone or personal interviews when re cords were incomplete. Inheritance rates from each sex of parent were compared. Correlation between ages at onset in affected siblings was d etermined. Results: From our own data and the literature summary, the preponderance of inheritance from the father over the mother is statis tically significant. A direct correlation exists between ages at onset in affected siblings. Age at onset in parent and child is also positi vely correlated. Average age at onset in parents is greater than in of fspring. Conclusion: Both data from literature and our own data are in agreement with the predictions of the allelic instability in mitosis model. This provides evidence that an unstable gene may contribute to the genetics of psoriasis.