If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  Sexual Dysfunction Improves Among Psoriasis Patients Treated With Ustekinumab: Presented at AAD By Perrie Susman MIAMI BEACH, Fla -- March 12, 2010 -- Men and women who reported sexual dysfunction while combating psoriasis said their sexual function improved when they were under treatment with the targeted biologic agent ustekinumab, researchers said here at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). About 22% to 23% of patients taking 1 of 2 doses of ustekinumab or placebo reported impaired sexual function at baseline in 2 phase 3 studies of the injected agent. But after 12 weeks of therapy, less than 3% of the 1,996 patients on ustekinumab reported having sexual problems -- while the percentage of the 662 patients taking placebo remained about the same, according to Lyn Guenther, MD, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. “Sexual life for patients with psoriasis has been reported to be severely affected due to their skin disease,” said Dr. Guenther during a poster presentation on March 9. In the patients treated with ustekinumab 45 mg at baseline, at 4 weeks, and then every 12 weeks, about 2.6% of patients noted impaired sexual functioning after 12 weeks of therapy. In the patients treated with ustekinumab 90 mg at baseline, at 4 weeks, and then every 12 weeks, about 2.8% of patients noted impaired sexual functioning after 12 weeks of therapy. However in the placebo group, impaired sexual function went from a reported 22.1% at baseline to 23% after 12 weeks, she said. The differences achieved statistical significance (P < .001). “A similar pattern of improved sexual function was observed at weeks 24 and 28 in the placebo group among those who crossed over to receive ustekinumab at week 12,” she said. She also noted that patients who demonstrated a greater improvement in the standard Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) also experienced a greater reduction in sexual dysfunction due to psoriasis. “However, the ustekinumab-treated patients had greater improvement of impaired sexual function than placebo-treated patients even among those who had comparable improvements in PASI, suggesting that the improved sexual function by ustekinumab is associated with improved psoriasis as well as other outcomes,” said Dr. Guenther. Funding for this study was provided by Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Services, LLC. [Presentation title: Impact of Ustekinumab on Quality of Life and Sexual Difficulties Associated With Psoriasis: Results From Phase III Clinical Trials. Abstract P206]
|
