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| |  Continuous Treatment With Etanercept Effective in Controlling Symptoms of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis: Presented at EADV By Jenny Powers BERLIN -- October 12, 2009 -- Etanercept remains effective in the treatment of psoriasis, and continuous treatment yields more stable control of disease symptoms according to results of a 1-year follow-up study presented here at the 18th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV). A team of researchers led by Francisco Camacho, Hospital Virgen de la Macarena, Seville, Spain, conducted this study to determine the efficacy of etanercept at 1 year after treatment, when administered in either a continuous or intermittent regimen, according to the standards of clinical practice in Spain. The study aimed to evaluate etanercept efficacy in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis at 1 year using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Physician’s Global Assessment (PGA). Results were presented here on October 8. This observational, prospective study was carried out between 2006 and 2008 at 59 dermatology centres in Spain with 444 patients (65.5% males, mean age 46.4 years), all of whom received either treatment with etanercept at 50 mg twice weekly (73.2%) or at other doses (26.8 %). At the 1-year follow-up, 29.5% of patients maintained etanercept doses of 50 mg twice weekly; 21.6% of patients received etanercept in continuous therapy throughout follow-up. The mean time of etanercept exposure was 7.36 +- 3.1 months. The follow-up was completed by 350 patients (78.8%). Significant decreases were seen in PASI scores and in PGA scores with etanercept treatment. Mean improvement in PASI was 74.6% +- 29.6% at month 12. The PASI 75 response was achieved by 76.1% of patients by month 6 and 65.6% of patients by month 12. More stable symptom control was seen over the 12-month period with continuous administration. The researchers concluded that administration of etanercept according to usual clinical practice, either in continuous or intermittent therapy, is highly effective in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Continuous treatment, they added, had a superior stabilising effect on disease activity. Funding for this study was provided by Wyeth Farma, S.A.
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