Six recent psoriasis developments

Research finding that psoriasis had a strong association with type 2 diabetes and obesity in a nationwide study of Danish twins, indicating a common genetic etiology between psoriasis and obesity, was among recent developments reported on Healio.com/Dermatology.

Other recent news included findings that patients with psoriasis appear to have a higher risk for abdominal aortic aneurysm, and the risk rises with more severe psoriasis:

Success rates vary when switching to another anti-TNF therapy for psoriasis

Although some patients show improved quality of life when switching to a second anti-tumor necrosis factor treatment for psoriasis after initial treatment failure with another anti-tumor necrosis factor agent, the rate of success varied by study, according to results from a recently published systematic review.

“Switching patients who are not responding to treatment with an anti-[tumor necrosis factor (TNF)] agent to another TNF antagonist can be considered as a therapeutic option that may produce clinically meaningful responses in a substantial proportion of patients, with improved quality of life,” Paul S. Yamauchi, MD, PhD, and colleagues wrote. Read more

Lilly announces Taltz available in US to treat psoriasis

Eli Lilly and Company announced in a press release that Taltz injection 80 mg/mL for treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis is now available by prescription order through specialty pharmacies in the United States.

Taltz (ixekizumab) was approved in March by the FDA for treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults who are candidates for systematic therapy or phototherapy. Ixekizumab is designed to specifically target interleukin-17A. Read more

Psoriasis associated with type 2 diabetes, obesity in twin study

Psoriasis had a strong association with type 2 diabetes and obesity in a nationwide study of Danish twins, indicating a common genetic etiology between psoriasis and obesity, according to study results recently published in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers in Denmark conducted a cross-sectional, population-based twin study that included 34,781 Danish twins born between 1931 and 1982, and aged 20 to 71 years. Read more

Psoriasis severity linked to increased risk for abdominal aortic aneurysm

Patients with psoriasis appear to have a higher risk for abdominal aortic aneurysm, and the risk rises with more severe psoriasis, researchers reported in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Usman Khalid

“Psoriasis must be considered as a systemic inflammatory disease rather than an isolated skin disease,” Usman Khalid, MD, PhD, fellow in the department of cardiology at Herlev and Gentofte Hospital in Denmark, said in a press release. Read more

Psoriasis patients treated by lasers show no indication of koebnerization

Patients with plaque psoriasis who underwent laser treatment did not show evidence of subsequent koebnerization, according to recent research.

“Koebnerization did not occur on the face, neck, or scalp in patients with plaque psoriasis who underwent laser treatment, irrespective of the severity of their psoriasis and medication they were receiving at the time of their procedure,” Suzanne M. Sachsman, MD, from the division of dermatology at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. Read more

Baseline characteristics associated with erosion development in patients with psoriatic arthritis

More than 12% of patients with psoriatic arthritis who were followed for at least 10 years did not develop erosions, and patients’ baseline characteristics were predictive of erosion development, according to study results.

Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of patients from the University of Toronto psoriatic arthritis cohort. There were 290 patients with at least 10 years’ follow-up included in the study. Read more