Psychodermatology and Psychosomatic Approach Psycho-neuro-endocrino-immuno-dermatology

Overview

The field dealing with the mutual interactions of nervous, immune, endocrine and skin systems on one hand, and behavioral outputs on other hand, is called psycho-neuro-endocrino-immuno-dermatology – psychodermatology, in an abbreviated form. The nervous, endocrine and immune systems cooperate to preserve the organism’s integrity, especially in the cases of infection, tissue damage and stress. The nervous, endocrine and immune systems converge in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. The key informational and regulation roles are played by cytokines, whose receptors are found in all systems of the organism. Cytokines’ activation plays a significant role in the neurogenic modulation of the skin inflammation as well as in the development of psychosomatic disorders. Psychosomatic disorders extend to multiple regulation levels: psychological, neuronal vegetative, endocrine and immune. Unsolved problems in the area of interpersonal relationships often function as the source and trigger of psychosocial stress, which also activates the stress axis and causes psychosomatic disorders. Psychosomatics should be understood in terms of psycho-neuro-endocrino-immuno interactions. It is relevant for all somatic diseases, and requires interdisciplinary collaboration and comprehensive treatment. Psychosomatics strive for the improvement in the care for patients through a timely diagnosis and treatment of psychosocial and behavioral disorders. An improvement in the currently unfavorable situation of psychosomatically oriented dermatologists, and, consequently, their patients figures among the goals of the Section of Psychodermatology of the Czech Society of Dermatovenereology, which was founded in 2004.

Key words:
psycho-neuro-endocrino-immuno-dermatology – interaction – psychosomatic disorders – antidepressant drugs – www.psychodermatologie.cz