Combined treatment with etanercept 50 mg once weekly and narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy in chronic plaque psoriasis.

Type:Uv phototherapy   Time:2014-12-10 14:17:06
Combined treatment with etanercept 50 mg once weekly and narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy in chronic plaque psoriasis.
De Simone C1, D'Agostino M, Capizzi R, Capponi A, Venier A, Caldarola G.
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Abstract
The combination of etanercept, a tumour necrosis factor ¦Á inhibitor, with narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy has recently been reported to be effective in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, yielding better results than either monotherapy. To assess the efficacy and safety of this combined treatment using the lower approved etanercept dosage. In this single-arm open-label study patients received etanercept 50 mg once weekly combined with NB-UVB phototherapy three times weekly for 8 weeks, followed by etanercept alone until week 12. We evaluated the proportion of patients achieving 75%, 90% and 100% improvement of their initial PASI score (PASI75, PASI90, and PASI100, respectively). Patients were 19 men and 14 women, mean age 48.3 years ¡À 12.1 standard deviation (SD) and mean baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score 22.5 ¡À 7.5. On treatment weeks 4, 8, and 12, 24.2%, 66.7%, and 81.8% of patients achieved PASI75; 8.0%, 15.1%, and 57.6% reached PASI90, and 0%, 6.0%, and 24.2% attained PASI100, respectively. There were no severe side effects. Low-dosage etanercept combined with NB-UVB phototherapy is an effective, safe and economical approach to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Further studies are clearly required to assess its long-term efficacy and safety.
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