Top psoriasis news of 2016

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 the most-read articles of 2016 on Healio.com/Dermatology.

Other widely read articles included study findings that patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who were treated with Taltz reported improvement in work productivity between 12 and 60 weeks compared with patients treated with placebo and, in some incidences, those treated with Enbrel:

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

New guidelines for psoriasis treatment goals established

Members of the National Psoriasis Foundation medical board established defined treatment targets for patients with psoriasis in a recent paper published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

April W. Armstrong

“This is a pivotal, groundbreaking effort that defines treatment targets for psoriasis patients in the U.S.,” April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) member and dermatologist at of the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California, Los Angeles, stated in a press release. Read more

Patients with psoriasis treated with Taltz reported improvements in work productivity

Patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who were treated with Taltz reported improvement in work productivity between 12 and 60 weeks compared with patients treated with placebo and, in some incidences, those treated with Enbrel, according to study results.

Patients were randomly assigned subcutaneous placebo, or 80 mg Taltz (ixekizumab, Eli Lilly and Company) every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks in the UNCOVER-1 trial. Patients in the UNCOVER-2 and UNCOVER-3 trials had the same three treatment groups, plus a treatment arm of Enbrel (etanercept, Amgen) 50 mg twice weekly, 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

Patients with psoriasis effectively switch from Remicade to infliximab biosimilar

Patients with psoriasis being treated with Remicade had no significant change in clinical response and experienced minor adverse events when switching to an infliximab biosimilar, according to recently published study results.

Researchers studied two cohorts of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who were treated between July 1, 2015, and Jan. 20, 2016 at the University of Turin in Italy. Read more