Immune drugs useful for psoriasis

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New research shows that tacrolimus ointment and pimecrolimus cream, which suppress the immune system, are effective treatments for intertriginous psoriasis, a form of the scaly skin disease affecting body regions where skin rubs against skin.

These findings stem from two studies reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

In the first study, Dr. Jennifer E. Hartle, from Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc. in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and colleagues assessed the outcomes of 167 psoriasis patients treated with tacrolimus ointment or inactive cream twice daily.

After little more than a week of treatment, tacrolimus therapy was associated with significantly higher response rates. Nearly 25 percent of tacrolimus-treated patients experienced clearing or marked improvement of their lesions compared with just 5.8 percent of comparison subjects.

After 8 weeks of treatment, the complete or near-complete response rate in the tacrolimus group was 65.2 percent, while the rate in the comparison group was 31.5 percent.

Lastly, the side effects seen with tacrolimus were comparable to those observed with the inactive cream, the authors note.

In the second study, Dr. Anne Parneix-Spake, from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp in East Hanover, New Jersey, and colleagues evaluated the outcomes of 57 patients with intertriginous psoriasis who were treated with pimecrolimus or inactive cream twice daily.

As in the first study, a clear difference in response rates between the two treatments emerged early on. By week 2, complete or near-complete resolution was noted in 54 percent of pimecrolimus-treated patients compared with just 21 percent of comparison subjects.

At 8 weeks, 82 percent of patients in the pimecrolimus group reported complete or good control of their disease compared with just 41 percent of comparison subjects, the authors note. Once again, side effects were comparable in each group.

“Pimecrolimus cream 1% represents a new and attractive therapeutic option for the treatment of (intertriginous) psoriasis,” they conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, November 2004.

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