Abstract
Psoriatic arthritis is inflammatory arthritis that is associated with psoriasis. It is one of the five types of spondylarthropaties that occurs in about 15 percent of patients who have skin psoriasis, but can occur in people without skin psoriasis, particularly in those who have relatives with psoriasis.
Psoriatic arthritis usually develops between ages 30 to 50, men and women are equally at risk. Psoriatic arthritis can affect any joint in the body, and symptoms vary from person to person.
Persistent joint inflammation can lead to severe joint damage, functional decline and disability. Available treatments include nonsteroidal antirheumatic drugs, intraarticular corticosteroids and conventional and biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs.
All five of the original TNF and two biosimilar are available for use in patients with psoriatic arthritis in the Czech Republic. They are currently recommended as first line biologics by EULAR (European League against Rheumatism) and Czech Rheumatologic Society.
The efficacy of the drugs for the arthritis appears comparable and the choice of agent is based upon patient preferences for route and frequency of administration, regulatory requirements and limitations. There may be a differential effect on the skin, which should be incorporated into the choice of agent.