Juvenile Psoriatic Arthritis: Myth or Reality? An Unending Debate

Abstract

Juvenile psoriatic arthritis (JPsA) accounts for 1–7% of all cases of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and its definition has been a matter of controversy among pediatric rheumatologists for many years. The traditional attribution of JPsA to the spondyloarthropathy group was challenged in the early 1990s, whereas the recent demonstrations of its heterogenous nature have led to questions about its identification as a distinct category in JIA classification. It has been shown that children with the phenotype of JPsA can be divided in two subgroups, one presenting with the features of early-onset ANA-positive JIA, and another that belongs to the spectrum of spondyloarthropathies. The few studies that have compared the clinical characteristics and genetic determinants of JPsA with those of the other JIA categories have obtained contrasting findings. The debate on the categorization of JPsA as a distinct entity within JIA classification is still ongoing and has prompted the revision of its current classification.