alpha 1-Antitrypsin deficiency in severe psoriasis.

alpha 1-Antitrypsin phenotypes and trypsin-inhibitory capacities were measured in fifty-one patients with psoriasis. An increased number of variant phenotypes (MS, MZ, and SS) were found only in those patients with severe psoriasis (20% or more skin involvement) and not in those with lesser involvement. The psoriatic patients with variant phenotypes had an earlier disease onset than those psoriatic individuals (both mild and severe) without this association. Protease inhibitors may play a role in modifying disease activity in psoriasis.