Quarterly Newsletter - January 2023 - Issue No. 17

chris griffiths

Welcome to the latest edition of the GPA newsletter and a Happy New Year – I do hope that you all managed to find some time to relax over the holidays. 2022 was a good year for our team; all three of our students have been awarded their PhDs and I would like to wish Maha, Alex and Peslie every success in their chosen careers. Thank you to our research team and collaborators for their continued hard work which has resulted in a number of important publications in over the past few months, particularly the first ever prevalence and incidence study from Malaysia led by Dr Siew Eng Choon and published in the British Journal of Dermatology. Our administrative team have been working on a number of research infographics to make our data more accessible and engaging to the general public – you can view these images below.

 

The team have been focused on applying to the LEO Foundation for funding of Phase III of the GPA which will run from 2023-2026. I look forward to visiting the LEO Foundation Board of Trustees in Copenhagen in February. I met with a number of our Coordinators earlier this month and there are several exciting collaborative opportunities ahead, namely the prospect of a skin disease survey in the Eastern Cape of South Africa later this year, working with Professor Ncoza Dlova, Head of Dermatology University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Professor Carsten Flohr, Director of the Global Atopic Dermatitis Atlas. The Eastern Cape is an under resourced province in South Africa and little is known about the prevalence of skin disease.

 

Professor Darren Ashcroft and I attended the IPC Think Tank in Miami in December and engaged in meaningful conversations about the global issues faced when treating psoriasis. I am grateful for another year of less restricted travel and, as ever, look forward to meeting with many of you in person at the 2023 AAD Annual Meeting in New Orleans in March. Until then, best wishes and safe travels.

 

Professor Chris Griffiths

Research Update

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Professor Darren Ashcroft
GPA Research Director

 

It was a pleasure to meet with so many of our collaborators at the IPC Think Tank Meeting in December and discuss opportunities for future research. Over the last two years, the GPA has hosted Dr Jaquelini Barboza da Silva (IPC Fellow, Brazil) and we are delighted that Jaquelini will be spending the next month with us in the UK. Jaquelini has been leading a project examining the burden of psoriasis experienced by people in Brazil.

 

I’m very pleased to report that we have had several new papers published since my last research update. Firstly, an overview of the available data on Generalized Pustular Psoriasis (GPP) prevalence has recently been published (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jdv.18720). The paper also details the epidemiology of known comorbidities and summarises the available data on mortality and assigned causes of death. Importantly, we discuss the various factors that impact the collection, interpretation, and comparison of these data. Building on this review and the knowledge gaps highlighted, we have been working closely with Choon Siew Eng and her team examining the epidemiology of generalised pustular psoriasis in Malaysia, and plan to present these new findings at the 25th World Congress of Dermatology later this year.

 

We have recently published our study examining changes in the prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates in people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis in Taiwan (https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actadv/article/view/1962). This population-based study analysed data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance claim records over a 12-year period. We have also recently completed another new study using the national claims database from Taiwan examining the risks of serious infection in people with psoriasis. We look forward to sharing further details on this programme of work later this year too.

 

Finally, we are developing plans to take forward new studies using the diagnostic training tool and very much look forward to working with our Regional and National Coordinators on these new initiatives.

 

Malaysia and Taiwan Infographics

 

We have been working with graphic designer, David Webb, to develop infographics as a way to make the findings from our publications more accessible and engaging. You can view the infographics from our latest epidemiological studies in Malaysia and Taiwan below or, alternatively, visit the infographics tab on our website: https://www.globalpsoriasisatlas.org/en/publications/infographics

 

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Regional Coordinator Meetings

 

GPA Director, Professor Griffiths; GPA Programme Manager, Rebekah Swan; and GPA Medical Coordinator, P.D. Dr Julia-Tatjana Maul, have been meeting with our Regional Coordinators over the past few months. These meetings have been highly productive and provided an opportunity for Professor Griffiths to update attendees on research progress and opportunities with the GPA. As a direct result some potential new research collaborations are being pursued. We plan to hold these calls on a regular basis and GPA Administrator, Jade Kelly, will send out further dates in due course.

 

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Research Report from Dr. Juan Raul Castro Ayarza, President of the Colombian Psoriasis Group, in conjunction with our National Coordinator, Cesar Gonzales

 

At the 7th Congress of the Skin Inflammation and Psoriasis International Network, some data were presented on the dose-tapering of biologic treatments for psoriasis. Here in Latin America, we are working on a consensus on dose-tapering which we hope to release this year. In August 2022, the Colombian guidelines for psoriasis were updated. We are currently working on updating the psoriatic arthritis guidelines which we expect to release this year.

 

Papers have been submitted using local data for psoriasis in Colombia. This information will show the main characteristics from the patients that suffer psoriasis in this country. Political changes in Colombia’s healthcare system may occur as a result of the new government instated in 2023. It is possible that new policies could impact hospitals and the treatment of patients with psoriasis. In Colombia, there are two main psoriasis patient cohorts which combine over 6000 patients under treatment. Observational studies would arise from these centres about real life drug survival.

 

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Dr Juan Raul Castro Ayarza

 

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Dr Cesar Gonzales

 

2023 American Academy of Dermatology’s Annual Meeting

 

We are looking forward to attending the 2023 AAD Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana in March. The GPA will hold its Steering Committee, Board and Funders Briefings on Saturday 18th March at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel. Below are some images from our first in-person meetings at the 2022 AAD Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, following the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions.

 

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IPC Fellow 2023

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Jaquelini Barboza da Silva

 

A warm welcome to Jaquelini Barboza da Silva, IPC Fellow from Brazil, who will be spending time with Professors Darren Ashcroft and Chris Griffiths and the GPA research team during February 2023. Her visit will also include clinical shadowing with colleagues in Manchester and London.

 

LEO Foundation Funding Application

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We submitted our funding application at the end of 2022. In February 2023, Professor Griffiths will present the plans for Phase III to the LEO Foundation Board of Trustees. We are grateful to the LEO Foundation for the substantial funding that it has provided during Phases I and II of the GPA.

 

Eastern Cape Collaboration

 

The Eastern Cape is an under resourced province in South Africa where little is known about the prevalence of skin disease. Planning is underway to conduct a skin disease survey in collaboration with GPA Regional Coordinator, Professor Ncoza Dlova, and Global Atopic Dermatitis Director, Professor Carsten Flohr, later this year. The survey is expected to take place in Mytolo and Mdolomba. This will be the first formal collaboration between the Global Psoriasis Atlas and the Global Atopic Dermatitis Atlas.

 

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Prof. Carsten Flohr

 

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Prof. Ncoza Dlova

 

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Thank you Leah Howard and the National Psoriasis Foundation

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Leah McCormick Howard

 

In December 2022, Professor Griffiths, Professor Ashcroft and Rebekah Swan met with Leah McCormick Howard, CEO of the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF). This was a great opportunity to share some key messages from our research outputs. Research into psoriasis in skin of colour has been an important focus for the NPF over the past few years and this aligns with the GPA’s research into diagnostic criteria for psoriasis and the development of a psoriasis training tool.

 

World Congress of Dermatology

 

The GPA team are looking forward to attending the 25th World Congress of Dermatology (WCD) in Singapore in July. Several abstracts relating to our field study in Greenland have been submitted to the WCD, including the prevalence of skin disease in Eastern Greenland and how to set up a skin disease survey in the field. The GPA will hold a meeting for our Regional and National Coordinators and friends of the GPA. The IPC will also host a joint reception with IFPA, GPA and the Burma Skincare Initiative on Tuesday 4th July.

 

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IPC Think Tank Miami

 

Professor Chris Griffiths and Professor Darren Ashcroft attended the IPC Think Tank Symposium in Miami in December. This was an opportunity for members of the IPC community to share expert knowledge and discuss the most pressing global issues facing the treatment and understanding of psoriasis.

 

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Upcoming meetings

 

2023 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting – New Orleans – 17th-21st March

 

 

  • Steering Committee Meeting: Saturday 18th March @ 13.00-14.20
  • Board of Governors Meeting: Saturday 18th March @ 15.05-16.00
  • Funders Briefing: Saturday 18th March @ 16.15-17.00

 

25th World Congress of Dermatology – Singapore – 3rd-8th July 2023

 

 

  • IPC, IFPA, GPA and Burma Skincare Initiative joint reception: Tuesday 4th July, time TBC
  • Regional and National Coordinators and friends of the GPA: date and time TBC