RESEARCH ARTICLE


Childhood Herpes Zoster-Triggered Guttate Psoriasis



V. Failla, N. Nikkels-Tassoudji, M. Sabatiello, V. de Schaetzen, A. F. Nikkels*
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium


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Creative Commons License
© 2012 Failla et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Dermatology, CHU of Sart Tilman, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium; Tel: +32-43667232; Fax: +32-43667234; E-mail: af.nikkels@chu.ulg.ac.be


Abstract

Psoriasis is commonly triggered or exacerbated by various stress factors, certain drugs, or streptococcal throat infections. Viral infections such as HIV, CMV, chikungunya, or herpes simplex virus are very uncommon triggers for psoriasis. Cases of varicella-triggered psoriasis are exceptional. A 7-year-old boy with a previous history of guttate psoriasis presented with generalized acute guttate psoriasis shortly after an extensive herpes zoster infection affecting the first and second left lumbar dermatomes. INF-alpha and granulocyte monocyte colony stimulating factor influence peripheral monocytes to transform into INF-dendritic cells (DC's), similar to those involved in psoriasis. These INF-DC's express toll-like receptors 7 and 8, which are responsive to viral single stranded RNA. Hence, viral infections and interferon (INF)-alpha may play a role in triggering psoriasis.

Keywords: Herpes zoster, varicella zoster virus, psoriasis, child.