Psychophysiology of stress in dermatology - The psychobiologic pattern of psychosomatics

Stress is an abnormal or extreme adjustment in the physiology of an animal to cope with adverse effects of its environment and management. The adverse effect is designated the stressor. In this article, the authors try to focus on the main types of host factors that can influence stress (genetics, perception) and on the numerous types of stressors (environmental, behavioral, psychological). Moreover, the authors outline the relevance of psychosomatic medicine, proposing the examination of psyche and soma as a unit ''in sickness and in health.'' They focus their attention on the new aspects of biologic psychosomatics (psychoneuroendocrinimmunology) in dermatology, suggesting the possible role of neuropeptides in the pathogenesis of some common dermatoses such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata, and urticaria.