Apremilast and biologics: Characteristics of patients treated with apremilast before, during, or after a biological treatment.

Apremilast is an oral small molecule approved for the treatment of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease. This research was conducted to describe the characteristics of patients who received treatment with apremilast for a skin disorder, either before, during, or after a biological treatment, with the aim of analyze the reasons that lead to start this drug in real clinical practice or suspend it for another. A total of 41 patients were enrolled: nine (22.0%) had received biological treatment prior to apremilast, seven (17.0%) both before and after apremilast and 25 (61.0%) after apremilast. One patient received concomitant treatment with adalimumab and apremilast. Most patients (85.4%) received apremilast as treatment for psoriasis. Reasons for starting apremilast were lack of efficacy with previous treatments (85.4%) and adverse effects or contraindication to previous treatments (14.6%), without statistically significant differences between patients who had received a previous biologic and those who had not. Drug survival was not influenced by previous biological treatment, but we found an increased risk of drug discontinuation in patients with chronic kidney disease (log-rank p = 0.028). The main reason of apremilast withdrawal was lack of adequate disease control (60.0%), most of whom required treatment with biologics. Therefore, despite the extensive development of new therapies for psoriasis and other dermatological conditions, apremilast is a widely used drug even in patients who are candidates for biologic treatment. Its initiation is more frequent due to poor disease control than because of other therapies contraindications.

Botulinum toxin type A in the treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon: A three-year follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE: Raynaud's phenomenon consists of vasospastic disease of the digital arteries after exposure to cold or stress. It causes an important reduction in the patient's quality of life when severe. The available treatments do not always offer favorable results. METHODS: A 3-year retrospective study was presented. A total of 15 patients with severe Raynaud's phenomenon who required infiltration with botulinum toxin type A participated in the study. In the first and follow-up visits (30 min, 7 days, 3 months, 6 months, and annual), the overall response by the patient was assessed as was the reduction in the number of weekly episodes of Raynaud's phenomenon, improvement in pain by means of the Visual Analogue Scale, and resolution of ulcers and necrosis as efficacy variables. RESULTS: A total of 15 patients were included in the study. After 30 min of infiltration, the immediate results showed a very good perception of response in four patients. After 1 month of treatment, eight patients had obtained and maintained a very good response, persisting throughout the study. A statistically significant reduction in pain was obtained, as well as the number of weekly episodes of Raynaud's phenomenon. Of the seven patients with basal ulcers, five were completely healed at 3 months. Of the patients, 64.3% showed an overall satisfaction level of >8 at the end of treatment. No serious adverse events were observed. CONCLUSION: Botulinum toxin is a useful treatment for severe Raynaud's phenomenon that is generally well tolerated. Its mechanism of action is not based exclusively on vasodilation. Further studies are necessary to define the ideal patient for this treatment, the most appropriate method of administration, and the number of units and frequency of the infiltrations.

An usual elastophagocytic granuloma with involvement of the back: a possible variant of an annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma.

Annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma (AEGCG) is a very infrequent granulomatous dermatitis characterized by elastolysis and elastophagocytosis. It usually appears in middle-aged Caucasian women and is normally located in sun-exposed areas.We present a case of a 73-year-old woman with hypertension and type II diabetes, who was admitted to the hospital for an ischemic cerebrovascular accident. She presented with annular and serpiginous skin lesions on her back and arms that had appeared seven months earlier;  a clinical and histological diagnosis of elastophagocytic granuloma was made. Our patient exhibited a florid presentation and a self-limiting course.