Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder, which is associated with a significant negative impact on a patient's quality of life. Traditional therapies for psoriasis are often not able to meet desired treatment goals, and high-dose and/or long-term use is associated with toxicities that can result in end-organ damage. An improved understanding of the involvement of cytokines in the etio...

A comprehensive evaluation of the risk of serious infections in biologic therapies for psoriasis is lacking. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies reporting serious infections in people taking any licensed biologic therapy for psoriasis compared with those taking placebo, nonbiologic therapy, or other biologic th...

The physical properties of particles used in radiation therapy, such as protons, have been well characterized, and their dose distributions are superior to photon-based treatments. However, proton therapy may also have inherent biologic advantages that have not been capitalized on. Unlike photon beams, the linear energy transfer (LET) and hence biologic effectiveness of particle beams varies al...

BACKGROUND Therapeutic biologic agents are uncommonly associated with lymphoma. CASE PRESENTATION We report a patient with psoriasis treated with the biologic agents efalizumab (Raptiva) and etanercept (Enbrel), who developed painless lymphadenopathy with peripheral lymphocytosis during treatment, simulating a non-Hodgkin lymphoma clinically and pathologically. Lymphocytosis and lymphadenopat...

OBJECTIVES To analyse the treatment sequencing assumptions after failure on a first-line biologic in cost-effectiveness models of treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and to compare them with the most recent treatment guidelines. METHODS A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, EconLit and the Cochrane Library databases used free text and Medical Subject Headings terms including p...

BACKGROUND Real-life registry data reveal approximately one-third of patients taking biologic agents use them as monotherapy, in spite that combination therapy with Disease Modifying Drugs is more efficacious than monotherapy. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of biologics monotherapy in a cohort of patients with RA followed at a single center, and to analyze the reasons for mon...

Abstract Background To examine the effect of smoking on need for surgery in patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease (CD) receiving biologic therapy. Methods Retrospective study adult CD at a University Medical Center over 20-year period. Results A total 251 were included (mean age 35.9 ± 15.0; 70.1% males; current, former, and non-smokers: 44.2%,11.6%, 43.8%, respectively). Mean durati...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate patient perspectives regarding utilization of intravenous (IV) therapy for inflammatory arthritis (IA). METHODS This was a single-center, noninterventional, patient questionnaire-based study of adult IA patients currently receiving IV biologics. At a single visit, patients completed the questionnaire comprising 30 questions centered on their experience receiving an intra...

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) treatments are rapidly evolving. Current knowledge of the immunopathology responsible for IBD grows on a daily basis. These scientific discoveries are quickly being translated into clinical advances for improved treatment of IBD patients. The breakthrough in biologic therapy occurred with the introduction of infliximab for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. Since...

From the first use of biologic therapy for the management of rheumatoid arthritis, methotrexate (MTX) has been commonly used as co-therapy. There are a number of mechanistic reasons why MTX may improve the efficacy of biologics, including reduced antigenicity as well as reduced clearance of the biologic agent. Clinical trial data for tumor necrosis factor inhibitors and for other biologic agent...