Beauty and the Biologic: Artistic Documentation of Scientific Breakthrough in Psoriasis

Abstract

The making of wax moulages was an exclusive and sought-after art that was primarily used for teaching, but also to document clinical and laboratory research during the first half of the 20th century. Applying the technique of moulage-making to document a case of psoriasis improvement for posterity, a moulage of the trunk of a patient with psoriasis vulgaris was taken prior to treatment with biologics - adalimumab, a TNF-α antagonist - and again 3 month after adalimumab was first given. Our modern moulage shows in the most realistic way the science-driven improvement of psoriasis achievable nowadays with biologics. However, the real clinical picture of the disease is shrouded by showing only one detail of the patient - by accident the one with the best clinical improvement. All available techniques to document skin disease have advantages and limitations and nothing beats seeing live patients.

Keywords: Biologics; Psoriasis; Wax moulage.

Fig. 1

Wax moulage of a psoriasis patient treated with biologics. A moulage of the trunk was taken in a psoriasis vulgaris patient prior to treatment with biologics – adalimumab, a TNF-α antagonist (August 12, 2014) and 3 month after adalimumab was first given (November 10, 2014). Wax moulages made by Johanna Stierlin and Sabina Carraro, Museum of Wax Moulages, Zurich.