Open label study to evaluate the efficacy of re-treatment with etanercept in patients with psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Etanercept has been used to treat chronic plaque psoriasis. Previously reported data demonstrated that some patients experienced secondary failure and frequently rotational-switch therapy is used. The re-treatment with etanercept as part of the rotational therapy could be considered as another safe and efficient therapeutic approach. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of the re-treatment with etanercept in patients with a history of etanercept use with good response and secondary loss of efficacy. METHODS: This is an open label prospective study involving 20 patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, who had been initially treated with etanercept and were re-treated after a variable interval with 50 mg BIW for 12 weeks. RESULTS: At week 12 of etanercept re-treatment, 13 of 20 patients (65%) achieved a PGA score of 2 or less and 40% (8 of 20), achieved a PGA score of 0 to 1. Etanercept was well tolerated and no serious adverse events were reported. LIMITATIONS: Our study involved a small number of patients. Failure of etanercept was establish by patient's history. However we were able to correlate such failure from our medical records in 17 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Re-treatment with etanercept, after secondary loss of efficacy should be considered in patients with psoriasis if satisfactory therapy cannot be achieved with other therapeutic regimens.

The use of cyclosporine in dermatology.

Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressive drug that acts selectively on T-cells by inhibiting calcineurin phosphorylase. It has been used in dermatology since its approval for US Food and Drug Administration in 1997 for the use in psoriasis. While indicated only for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis, cyclosporine has also been used as an off-label drug for the treatment of various inflammatory skin conditions, including atopic dermatitis, blistering disorders, and connective tissue diseases. In this article, we review the use of cyclosporine in dermatology.

An Update on the Treatment of the Cutaneous Manifestations of Systemic Sclerosis: The Dermatologist's Point of View.

Systemic sclerosis is a connective tissue disorder that affects multiple organs. Although the initial symptoms of the disease are vascular, skin involvement is almost universally present in patients with systemic sclerosis. The presence of Raynaud's phenomenon, progressive thickening of the skin, digital ulcers, and calcinosis all correlate proportionally with disease severity. Since no treatment is available to completely prevent the natural course of the disease, emphasis is often placed on managing symptoms and complications. In this review, the authors focus on the management of each one of the skin manifestations seen in systemic sclerosis, as the dermatologist may facilitate the early recognition and treatment of these complications.

Multiple eruptive keratoacanthomas arising in a tattoo.

Keratoacanthomas are rapidly growing, keratinizing, epithelial neoplasms that tend to spontaneously involute and are rarely multiple or eruptive. There is still disagreement on whether or not this condition is a malignancy or a benign epidermal neoplasm; nevertheless, its appearance on tattoos has been reported in rare instances. When waiting for spontaneous involution is not an option, surgery is the preferred treatment. Other therapeutic modalities used for the treatment of this condition include radiotherapy; cryotherapy; laser therapy; and multiple intralesional, topical, and systemic agents. The authors report a patient who developed multiple, eruptive keratoacanthomas in the red ink portions of a tattoo and was successfully treated with acitretin.