NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters Health) -- The anti-inflammatory drug
etanercept, sold under the trade name Enbrel, improves the joint and skin
symptoms of patients with psoriatic arthritis, researchers announced this week
at the American College of Rheumatology meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
Psoriasis causes patches of flaking skin on the elbows, knees, scalp, and
trunk. In some cases, psoriasis causes arthritis symptoms, such as swollen,
stiff, or painful joints. There have been previous reports of patients with
psoriatic arthritis having a good response to Enbrel. But the new study "is the
first time that a high-quality assessment of the patient response was
attempted," Dr. Phillip Mease, of Minor and James Medical Center in Seattle,
Washington, told Reuters Health.
Mease and his colleagues treated 60 psoriatic arthritis patients with
either Enbrel or a placebo (inactive drug), injected under the skin twice a week
for 3 months. They observed that 87% of the patients treated with Enbrel showed
improvement in arthritis symptoms, versus 21% of the patients in the placebo
group.
Thirty-eight of the patients had more than 3% of their skin surface
affected by psoriasis. In this subgroup, 45% to 50% of patients treated with
Enbrel improved in terms of a reduction in the amount of flaking skin and the
degree of inflammation. None of the patients in the placebo group improved,
according to Mease.
Mease's team found that Enbrel was very well tolerated. There were no
serious infections, which was of concern because Enbrel affects the functioning
of the immune system. Patients who completed the trial were allowed to join a
second study, in which they are all allowed to take Enbrel. Mease told Reuters
Health that, so far, patients who were formerly in the placebo group have had
positive responses to Enbrel.
Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic disease, so "it appears likely that
(Enbrel treatment) will need to be continued in order to maintain the effect,"
Mease said. He noted that some patients who went off the drug because they
finished the first study, or because their insurance refused to pay for the
drug, have had their symptoms return.
Enbrel has already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Mease said that Seattle-based
Immunex Corp., which manufactures Enbrel, may do a large study of the drug and
apply for formal FDA approval for Enbrel to be used to treat psoriatic
arthritis.
