Medical College of Wisconsin
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Unmet needs in the treatment of psoriasis. Eur J Dermatol 2014;24(5):523-32

Date

08/15/2014

Pubmed ID

25115238

DOI

10.1684/ejd.2014.2403

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84919394318 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   21 Citations

Abstract

Biologics have greatly improved the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, as most patients are now able to achieve an initial improvement of 75% in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. However, only ∼20%-57% reach a 90% improvement in this measurement and responses may be lost over time. In addition, there are potential safety issues as TNF-inhibitor biologics have been associated with infections or non-melanoma skin malignancies. Here we review unmet needs with current therapies for psoriasis. We researched the medical literature to discuss new therapies in development and assess their potential to meet these needs. Several new classes of anti-psoriatic drugs are currently undergoing clinical development and potential improvements with these new therapies include attaining earlier and higher-level responses that are durable, more specific targeting of cytokines involved directly in psoriatic inflammation, and new therapies offering convenient administration. Additionally, based on results from clinical trials evaluating these new agents, it may be possible to find predictive markers that identify patients best treated with certain drug classes, those prone to lose treatment responses and patients who can discontinue treatment and remain in remission. It remains to be determined whether the promising results seen in early studies of therapies in development for psoriasis will translate into actual improvements over currently available treatment options.

Author List

Kragballe K, van de Kerkhof PC, Gordon KB

Author

Kenneth Brian Gordon MD Professor in the Dermatology department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
Antibodies, Monoclonal
Drug Resistance
Humans
Immunologic Factors
Interleukin-17
Janus Kinase 3
Maintenance Chemotherapy
Protein Kinase Inhibitors
Psoriasis
Remission Induction
Severity of Illness Index
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha