• Maria Esposito, Alessandro Giunta, Annamaria Mazzotta, Arianna Zangrilli, Graziella Babino, Mauro Bavetta, Roberto Perricone, Sergio Chimenti, and Maria Sole Chimenti.
• Department of Dermatology, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Rome, Italy. espositomaria @ virgilio.it
• Dermatology (Basel). 2012 Jan 1;225(4):312-9.

BackgroundIn elderly patients the management of psoriasis is challenging due to contraindications and a higher risk of side effects.ObjectiveOur retrospective study aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety profile of subcutaneous anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents in elderly psoriatic patients.MethodsThe study included 89 patients (aged ≥65 years) with plaque-type psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treated with the subcutaneous anti-TNF-α agents etanercept or adalimumab as monotherapy for a long-term continuous period.ResultsEfficacy results were consistent and stable over long-term observation, as expressed by mean Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score variation, percentage of patients achieving PASI50 and PASI75 and by the improvement of articular indices, pain visual analogue scale (Pain-VAS) and 44-Joint Disease Activity Score (DAS44-ESR). The proportion of patients achieving PASI50 was 91.80 and 82.14% at week 156 with etanercept and adalimumab treatment, respectively, while the proportion of patients achieving PASI75 was 83.61 and 71.43% at week 156 when treated with etanercept and adalimumab, respectively. The mean DAS44-ESR score decreased from 5.80 to 0.89 and from 3.43 to 1.44 at week 156 and the mean Pain-VAS score decreased from 75.10 to 3.15 and from 71.30 to 18.26 at week 156 with etanercept and adalimumab treatment, respectively. Both treatment adherence and safety profile were good.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that subcutaneous anti-TNF-α agents are appropriate in the long-term management of elderly patients.Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

31 keywords...

hide…