Ustekinumab for chronic plaque psoriasis

Psoriasis affects about 3% of the general population, and 30% of these patients have moderate to severe disease. The more severely affected patients have significant physical and psychological impairments that affect all aspects of life, often leading to severe depression. Marked comorbidities have also been associated with moderate to severe psoriasis. 1 Gottlieb AB Chao C Dann F Psoriasis comorbidities. J Dermatolog Treat. 2008; 19: 5-21 Crossref PubMed Scopus (225) Google Scholar About a third of patients with psoriasis also have joint involvement, which ranges from morning stiffness to crippling psoriatic arthritis. 2 Gottlieb AB Korman NJ Gordon KB et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: section 2. Psoriatic arthritis: overview and guidelines of care for treatment with an emphasis on the biologics. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008; 58: 851-864 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (379) Google Scholar Efficacy and safety of ustekinumab, a human interleukin-12/23 monoclonal antibody, in patients with psoriasis: 76-week results from a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (PHOENIX 1)Ustekinumab seems to be efficacious for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis; dosing every 12 weeks maintains efficacy for at least a year in most patients. Full-Text PDF Efficacy and safety of ustekinumab, a human interleukin-12/23 monoclonal antibody, in patients with psoriasis: 52-week results from a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (PHOENIX 2)Although treatment with ustekinumab every 12 weeks is effective for most patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, intensification of dosing to once every 8 weeks with ustekinumab 90 mg might be necessary to elicit a full response in patients who only partially respond to the initial regimen. Full-Text PDF