THURSDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- The drug ustekinumab has
been shown to be a very effective initial and long-term treatment
for moderate-to-severe psoriasis in two studies published in this
week's issue of
The Lancet.
Ustekinumab works by binding to two interleukins, proteins
produced by the immune system that mediate inflammatory reactions
in diseases like psoriasis. The binding stops the interleukins from
reaching their specific receptors on the surface of cells.
"Not only does ustekinumab compare favorably to the best
available therapies for psoriasis, the maintenance of response
between injections every three months also provides a more
convenient regimen than those currently available," Drs. Brenda
Bartlett and Stephen Tyring, both with the University of Texas
Health Science Center in Houston, wrote in a commentary
accompanying the publication of the two studies on ustekinumab.
In the first study, two-thirds of patients with
moderate-to-severe psoriasis achieved at least a 75 percent
improvement in their skin condition (PASI 75 response) after 12
weeks of following regimens of either 45 milligram doses or 90
milligram doses of ustekinumab. At 40 weeks, 63 percent of those
patients on 45 milligram doses were at or above the 75 percent
level of improvement; 67 percent of those on the 90 milligram
regimen had reached that level.
After 40 weeks, about half the patients achieving the PASI 75
response were randomly selected to stay on maintenance levels of
ustekinumab, while the other half stopped using the drug. Over a
year, the group on the maintenance dose did much better in
retaining their improved psoriasis condition.
"Our results suggest that ustekinumab could be an important
therapeutic agent for treating patients with psoriasis... The high
level of efficacy was generally maintained with dosing every 12
weeks, a schedule that could offer a novel level of convenience for
patients and physicians," the report's authors concluded.
In the second study, researchers found that the higher 90
milligram doses of ustekinumab, when increased from once every 12
weeks to once every eight weeks, were effective at helping
moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients who had only partially
reached the desired 75 percent while taking lower or less frequent
doses.
"Although treatment with ustekinumab every 12 weeks is effective
for most patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis,
intensification of dosing to once every eight weeks with
ustekinumab 90 milligram might be necessary to elicit a full
response in patients who only partially respond to the initial
regimen," the authors concluded.
More information
The National Psoriasis Foundation has more about
psoriasis and its treatment.
