Dermatoscopy and Video Dermatoscopy in the Diagnosis and Therapeutic Monitoring of Plaque Psoriasis: A Review

Dermatoscopy and Video Dermatoscopy (VD) are two non-invasive techniques, which are widely used in dermatology in the differential diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions. These techniques have been demonstrated to be useful in a wide variety of skin disorders, including plaque-type psoriasis. In psoriatic skin, dermatoscopy (X10 magnification) can provide an overview of the vascular pattern, showing the presence of a typical feature consisting of uniformly distributed “dotted” or “pinpoint” red capillaries or “red dots”. VD, performed with magnifications ? X100, shows, in involved skin, the presence of dilated and twisted capillaries, with a “bushy” or “basket-like” appearance, which is regularly and homogeneously distributed throughout the entire lesion. These patterns were confirmed by several studies and correlate with the dilation of capillary vessels within the dermal papillae, one of the earliest detectable histological changes of psoriasis and typical in all stages of lesional development. In this paper, the role of dermatoscopy and VD in the diagnosis and therapeutic follow-up of plaque-type psoriasis will be reviewed and discussed.