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THURSDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- A new study reconfirms the value of Remicade, or infliximab, a rheumatoid arthritis drug, for treating moderate-to-severe cases of psoriasis.
The improvements were sustained for at least a year in many patients, according to a study appearing in this week's issue of the journal The Lancet.
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"The data confirms the rapid and dramatic efficacy in severe psoriasis," said Dr. Christopher Griffiths, senior author of the study and a professor of dermatology at the University of Manchester School of Medicine, in England.
"What the study adds is that infliximab can be used to maintain that improvement in the majority of patients with severe psoriasis for at least one year. This is important because psoriasis is currently a chronic, incurable disease that needs long-term treatment," he said
Remicade is currently approved for the treatment of autoimmune disorders such as Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, a form of joint disease that affects about one-third of patients with psoriasis. The drug is known to be effective against psoriasis itself but is not yet approved for this use and is therefore prescribed "off label."
The results of the new study may bolster the case for adding psoriasis to the list of approved indications for Remicade, said Dr. Bruce E. Strober, associate director of the dermatopharmacology unit at New York University School of Medicine in New York City.
"This is data we're all aware of but it's nice to see data in literature that's been peer-reviewed," Strober said. "There are many patients for whom we do not have effective therapy. Remicade may represent the only medicine that would work for them. This study shows that Remicade is a very effective medicine for people with psoriasis."
Psoriasis is thought to be an auto-immune disorder, occurring when the body inexplicably begins overproducing skin cells. The extra cells pile up on the surface of the skin before they have a chance to mature, creating bright red patches that cause itching, burning and stinging.
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