Psoriasis Treatment with Adalimumab in Clinical Practice: Long Tenn Experience of a Center for Biological Therapy of Psoriasis
Abstract
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease affecting about 2-4% of Central-European population. Treatment options include topical or systemic agents, often in combination.
Conventional systemic therapies are represented by phototherapy (UVB, PUVA), methotrexate, cyclosporine and acitretin. The newest drugs are so-called biologics: drugs blocking tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) - adalimumab, etanercept, intliximab, drugs blocking interleukin- 12 and 23 (IL- 12/23) - ustekinumab and newly also drugs blocking interleukin 17 - secukinumab.
The aim of this paper is to present the long-term efficacy and safety of treatment of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis with adalirnumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha. Retrospectively we analyzed 90 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis treated with adalimumab in the Center for biological therapy in Dermatovenereology clinic of the Faculty Hospital of Kralovske Vinohrady during the years 2008 and 2015.
Although the average PASl of patients assigned to treatment was 22.5, the results shows a rapid onset of action of adalimurnab, where PASI75 was observed in 85.6% of patients after 3 months of treatment. The efficacy sustained even in a long-term follow up, after two years PAS175 has been retained in 94.8% and PASI90 in 75.9% patients.
After 48 months follow up a cohort of about 80% of patients is still on therapy. The safety profile of adalimumab in our group was very good, no patients have discontinued the treatment due to ad verse events.