RELEVANCE

The structure of the scalp skin of patients with psoriasis at the electron microscopic level has not been adequately studied, mainly the structural organization of hair has been studied.

OBJECTIVE

To reveal the ultrastructural structural features of the non-affected and affected areas of the scalp of the skin and its appendages in psoriasis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as to test the negative contrast method for studying microorganisms directly in epidermal furfurs to study the structural features in a transmission electron microscope (TEM).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The SEM method was used to study unaffected and affected scalp skin in psoriasis. To study the micromorphology of the microbiota of skin furfurs in TEM, the method of contrasting with tungstic-phosphoric acid (TPA) was first applied.

RESULTS

The incidence of hair on the psoriasis affected area of the skin was 2 times less than on the unaffected. Significant dystrophic changes are typical for the hair cuticle of the affected area compared with the non-affected area. The surface of the skin of the affected area is characterized by the presence of numerous bacterial biofilms, the presence of which can be considered as an indicator of its poor condition. Numerous skin furfurs are typical for the skin area not affected with psoriasis, and a small number of skin furfurs only in the area of the hair funnel are typical for the affected area. The prospects of using the method of negative contrasting of TPA for the detection of yeast in skin furfurs is shown.

CONCLUSION

Using the SEM method, it was shown that in psoriasis, significant changes occur in the structure of the surface layer of the skin and its appendages.