Arthritis drug effective against psoriasis

	Tweet

A drug for Rheumatoid Arthritis can relieve the suffering of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis for a year, researchers said on Friday.

They found that infliximab, which is marketed under the name Remicade by Johnson & Johnson in the United States and by Schering-Plough Corp in other markets, improved symptoms of the chronic skin condition that affects 2 percent of the population in western countries.

"This is the first study to show that the very rapid and dramatic improvement that you see with psoriasis can, in the majority of patients, be maintained over at least the medium term—over the course of a year,” said Professor Christopher Griffiths, of the University of Manchester in England.

Previous trials have only looked into the impact of the drug on psoriasis over a short period of about 12 weeks.

The study published in The Lancet medical journal also showed patients saw a significant improvement in one of the most disturbing features of psoriasis: nail disease.

“Up until now it has been extremely difficult to treat,” said Griffiths.

He and his colleagues compared the effects of the intravenous treatment to a placebo, or dummy drug, on 378 patients with the illness.

Each patient was given three intravenous infusions of the drug or a placebo over six weeks and then every 8 weeks for nearly a year. After less than 3 months on the treatment, 80 percent of the patients showed at least a 75 percent improvement, compared to 3 percent in the placebo group.

By the end of the trial, the drug completely cleared the skin condition in a quarter of patients but no one in the placebo group had the same result.

“Some of the patients were improved to the extent that they had no psoriasis and there was no impairment of their quality of life. So this is the best result you could possibly aim for with a treatment for psoriasis," said Griffiths.

“Compared with the other available treatments, it does work extremely effectively and extremely quickly.”

The scientists said none of the patients given the drug had any serious side effects. But they stressed that the treatment is not a cure. It is likely patients would have to be on a long-term maintenance programme.

Psoriasis, an immune mediated disease, can develop at any age but it occurs most commonly before the age of 40. Psoriasis patches can also show up on the fingernails and toenails. About 15 percent of patients also suffer from arthritis linked to the condition.

European regulators recently approved infliximab for the treatment of psoriasis but the drug has not yet been approved for the skin condition in the United States.

The drug is also used as a treatment for Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition. 

RELATED STORIES:
Statins Slowed Progression of Arthritis   Rheumatoid arthritis incidence on the rise in women   Steroid shots as good as surgery for carpal tunnel   Rheumatoid arthritis sends many into early retirement   Exercise therapy may aid hip arthritis   Ibuprofen tops acetaminophen for arthritis - study   New drug may treat RA when others fail   Tofacitinib Recommended for FDA Approval to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis   Japan experts link osteoarthritis to gene variant   Regulatory Immune Cell Diversity Tempers Autoimmunity in Rheumatoid Arthritis   Heavy exercise may worsen arthritis damage   Childhood Arthritis Raises Risk of Broken Bones

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]