Evolution of characteristics and biologic treatment effectiveness in patients of the Austrian psoriasis registry from 2004-2022.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed the extent to which the recent introduction of more effective treatments has led to an improvement in real-world psoriasis patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patient characteristics and the first-year treatment effectiveness in biologic-naive patients have been analyzed since 2004 until now, irrespective of treatment switches. RESULTS: Data from 2,729 patients were eligible for this analysis. The proportion of female patients increased significantly over the years from 29.9% to 36.2% (p < 0.028), while the number of patients with psoriatic arthritis declined from 36.6% to 30.0% (p < 0.001). Moreover, the duration of psoriatic disease and PASI at the start of the treatment significantly decreased. Last observation carrief forward (LOCF) analysis indicated that PASI 90 response increased from 18.9 to 44.6% at 3 months and from 32.9 to 66.8% at 12 months after treatment started. Similary, the PASI ≤ 3 rates increased from 33.2% to 66.0% at 3 months and from 41.9% to 78.9% at 12 months after the treatment started. CONCLUSIONS: The continuous introduction of more efficient biologics has led to significant improvements in patient care and clinical outcomes. Though one out of three to five patients, depending on the endpoint selected, nowadays still does not achieve an entirely satisfactory treatment response (i.e., PASI 90 or PASI ≤ 3).

828 kHz retinal imaging with an 840†nm Fourier domain mode locked laser.

This paper presents a Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser centered around 840 nm. It features a bidirectional sweep repetition rate of 828 kHz and a spectral bandwidth of 40 nm. An axial resolution of ∼9.9 µm in water and a 1.4 cm sensitivity roll-off are achieved. Utilizing a complex master-slave (CMS) recalibration method and due to a sufficiently high sensitivity of 84.6 dB, retinal layers of the human eye in-vivo can be resolved during optical coherence tomography (OCT) examination. The developed FDML laser enables acquisition rates of 3D-volumes with a size of 200 × 100 × 256 voxels in under 100 milliseconds. Detailed information on the FDML implementation, its challenging design tasks, and OCT images obtained with the laser are presented in this paper.

Effectiveness and clinical predictors of drug survival in psoriasis patients receiving apremilast: A registry analysis.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the effectiveness and drug survival associated with apremilast under real-world conditions. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of patient and disease characteristics on drug survival associated with apremilast and to elucidate clinical effectiveness with regard to the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) reduction. METHODS: This was an observational, retrospective, multicenter analysis from the Austrian Psoriasis Registry. RESULTS: Data from 367 patients were eligible for analysis. The 12-month drug survival rate associated with apremilast (ie, the proportion of patients on the drug) was 57.3% and decreased significantly in patients younger than 40 years (relative hazard ratio = 1.49, P = .007918). Sex; concomitant arthritis; previous biologic therapy; obesity; and palmoplantar, scalp, nail, and intertriginous involvement did not significantly affect drug survival. At 12 months, the response rates in patients receiving apremilast per protocol with a PASI of 50, 75, 90, and 100 were 80.0%, 56.4%, 38.2%, and 22.7%, respectively. LIMITATIONS: Inclusion of a substantial number of patients with no record of absolute PASI at study entry and lack of PASI reduction follow-up data of 103 patients (28.1%) after starting apremilast treatment. CONCLUSION: Apremilast is a robust antipsoriatic drug for which the drug survival is not strongly influenced by most patient- or disease-related factors except age. Drug survival is significantly shorter in patients younger than 40 years.

Dimethyl fumarate is efficacious in severe plaque psoriasis : Post hoc analysis from the BRIDGE trial in Austria.

BACKGROUND: Fumaric acid esters are recommended in European guidelines for induction and maintenance treatment of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. A systemic medication with pure dimethyl fumarate without monoethyl fumarate salts was recently licensed in Europe. OBJECTIVE: The efficacy and safety of pure dimethyl fumarate were assessed in patients with severe (physician global assessment) plaque psoriasis in Austria in the BRIDGE trial. METHODS: In this double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial patients received 16-week treatment with pure dimethyl fumarate in a head to head comparison with dimethyl fumarate with monoethyl fumarate salts, which is licensed in Germany. In this post hoc analysis the efficacy and safety were assessed in patients with severe psoriasis in Austria. RESULTS: Efficacy measures significantly improved in both active treatment arms compared to placebo in 65 patients after 16 weeks of treatment. Physician global assessment of clear/almost clear in the dimethyl fumarate group was non-inferior to the dimethyl fumarate with monoethyl fumarate salts group 2 months after end of treatment. No serious adverse reaction occurred in patients with dimethyl fumarate in contrast to the second active treatment. Efficacy outcome was paralleled by quality of life improvements. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of dimethyl fumarate in a severely affected population with plaque psoriasis. Dimethyl fumarate is effective and safe in the systemic treatment of adults with severe psoriasis (physician global assessment).

Lebensqualität und Behandlungsziele bei Psoriasis aus Patientensicht: Ergebnisse eines österreichweiten Querschnitt-Survey.

HINTERGRUND: Patienten mit Psoriasis sind mit einer krankheitsbedingten Einschränkung ihrer Lebensqualität konfrontiert, weshalb einer hochqualitativen dermatologischen Versorgung ein besonderer Stellenwert zukommt. PATIENTEN UND METHODIK: Wir führten einen bundesweiten Querschnitt-Survey in Österreich (BQSAustria Psoriasis 2014/2015) mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Lebensqualität und Therapiezufriedenheit bei Patienten mit Psoriasis in dermatologischer Behandlung vorwiegend an Zentren mit überwiegend tertiären Versorgungsaufgaben durch. ERGEBNISSE: 70,2 % der 1184 befragten Patienten berichtete über eine eingeschränkte Lebensqualität (DLQI 2-5: 29,4 %; 6-10: 19,3 %; 11-15: 11,5 %; 16-20: 5,2 % und > 20: 4,9 %) trotz Behandlung innerhalb der letzten vier Wochen (mit lokaler Therapie in 88,2 % und/oder systemischer Therapie in 38,7 % der Fälle). Mit den verabreichten Therapien konnte im Durchschnitt kein einziges von 25 definierten subjektiven Behandlungszielen im gewünschten Ausmaß erreicht werden. So litten 82,2 % der Patienten trotz Behandlung weiter unter Juckreiz, wobei statistisch hochsignifikante Assoziationen mit einem schlechten Gesundheitszustand in der letzten Woche (Spear-man-Rangkorrelation; p = 1.1e-45), dem Ausmaß des psoriatischen Körperoberflächenbefalls (p = 3.2e-11) und Kopfhautbefalls (p = 3.2e-11) sowie Schmerzen (p = 2.3e-22) vorlagen. Die Behandlung mit einem Biologikum war mit einer signifikant höheren Patientenzufriedenheit verbunden (Wilcoxon-Test, p = 2.0e-16). SCHLUSSFOLGERUNGEN: Die Lebensqualität der meisten österreichischen Patienten mit Psoriasis in dermatologischer Versorgung ist krankheitsbedingt beeinträchtigt, und es besteht ein Verbesserungspotenzial bei der Umsetzung von Behandlungszielen.

Quality of life and treatment goals in psoriasis from the patient perspective: results of an Austrian cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Patients with psoriasis experience impairment in quality of life. Thus, high-quality dermatological care is of particular importance. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a nationwide cross-sectional survey in Austria (BQSAustria Psoriasis 2014/2015) with a special focus on quality of life and satisfaction with treatment among psoriasis patients predominantly treated at tertiary care centers. RESULTS: Overall, 70.2 % of 1,184 patients reported impaired quality of life (DLQI 2-5: 29.4 %; 6-10: 19.3 %; 11-15: 11.5 %; 16-20: 5.2 % and > 20: 4.9 %) despite treatment over the preceding four weeks (topical treatment in 88.2 % of cases and/or systemic treatment in 38.7 %). On average, none of the 25 defined subjective treatment goals was achieved to a sufficient degree. In particular, 82.2 % of patients continued to have pruritus despite treatment, which was highly significantly associated with a poor general health status over the preceding week (Spearman's rank correlation; p  =  1.1e-45), the extent of body surface area (p  =  3.2e-11) and scalp area (p  =  3.2e-11) affected, as well as pain (p  =  2.3e-22). Treatment with a biologic was significantly correlated with higher patient satisfaction (Wilcoxon-Test, p  =  2.0e-16). CONCLUSIONS: Despite dermatological care, the majority of Austrian psoriasis patients continues to experience impaired quality of life; there is potential for improvement in the achievement of treatment goals.

Survival and Effectiveness of Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha Inhibitors in the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis under Daily Life Conditions: Report from the Psoriasis Registry Austria.

This retrospective multicentre analysis from the Psoriasis Registry Austria (PsoRA) was conducted to determine drug effectiveness and survival of anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-α) agents in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis over a 9-year period. Data on 1,019 treatment cycles with adalimumab (n = 460), etanercept (n = 501), and/or infliximab (n = 58) administered to 827 patients (272 women, 555 men) were available for analysis. Compared with etanercept, adalimumab and infliximab showed superior short-term effectiveness. Intention-to-treat-calculated median drug survivals for adalimumab (1,264 days) and etanercept (1,438 days) were similar to each other (p = 0.74), but significantly superior to that of infliximab (477 days) (p = 7.0e-07 vs. adalimumab and p=2.2e-07 vs. etanercept, respectively). Their drug survival rates at 36 months were 51.6%, 56.0%, and 22.6%, respectively. Survival rates correlated significantly with effectiveness for adalimumab and etanercept, but not for infliximab.

Immunoadsorption in the treatment of pemphigus.

The autoimmune bullous skin disorder pemphigus is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies that target distinct adhesion molecules of the epidermis. The autoantibodies result in a loss of the epidermal adhesive properties, which in turn leads to the appearance of blisters and erosions on skin and mucosal surfaces. In the majority of cases, disease activity can be sufficiently controlled by systemic corticosteroids in combination with immunsuppressants, but pemphigus often is recalcitrant to conventional immunosuppressive therapy. Clinical remission can be obtained only in a minority of patients. In the past, only cyclophosphamide and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) were available as second-line therapies. Meanwhile, immunoadsorption and monoclonal anti-CD 20 antibody rituximab have been established as further therapeutic options.