Pharmacogenetics of ustekinumab in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Unlabelled: Aim/Materials & methods: Few studies have evaluated the influence of pharmacogenetics in psoriatic patients treated with ustekinumab. We evaluated 121 polymorphisms to study a possible association between these SNPs and the response to ustekinumab (PASI75 at 4 months; n = 69).

Results/conclusion: The adjusted results (false discovery rate) showed an association between five SNPs in TNFRSF1A, HTR2A, NFKBIA, ADAM33 and IL13 genes, and poor response to ustekinumab.

Polymorphisms Associated with Age at Onset in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease in which genetics play a major role. Although many genome-wide association studies have been performed in psoriasis, knowledge of the age at onset remains limited. Therefore, we analyzed 173 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in genes associated with psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis type I (early-onset, <40 years) or type II (late-onset, ≥40 years) and healthy controls.

The polymorphism rs763780 in the IL-17F gene is associated with response to biological drugs in patients with psoriasis.

Psoriasis improves when IL-17 is blocked. Anti-TNF drugs reduce the IL-17 signaling pathway, and anti-IL-17 drugs are being developed to treat moderate-to-severe psoriasis. We analyzed three SNPs in IL-17A (rs2275913 and rs10484879) and IL-17F (rs763780) to look for an association with psoriasis and/or with response to anti-TNF drugs or ustekinumab.

Biological Treatments in Atopic Dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin diseases that affect both children and adults with a prevalence of 30% and 10%, respectively. Even though most of patients respond satisfactory to topical anti-inflammatory drugs, about 10% require one or more systemic treatments to achieve good control of their illness. The progressive and increasingly detailed knowledge in the immunopathogenesis of AD has allowed research on new therapeutic targets with very promising results in the field of biological therapy.

Consensus Document on Prevention and Treatment of Tuberculosis in Patients for Biological Treatment.

Tuberculosis risk is increased in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases receiving any immunosuppressive treatment, notably tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists therapy. Screening for the presence of latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and targeted preventive treatment to reduce the risk of progression to TB is mandatory in these patients. This Consensus Document summarizes the current knowledge and expert opinion of biologic therapies including TNF-blocking treatments.

Sweet syndrome and differentiation syndrome in a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

The differentiation syndrome is an inflammatory reaction with increased capillary permeability that occurs in up to 25% of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with all-trans retinoic acid. A 50-year-old man with acute promyelocytic leukemia underwent chemotherapy with idarubicin and all-trans retinoic acid. On day +21 the patient developed pruritic prepatelar papules as well as several 10 mm subcutaneous nodules in both thighs accompanied by persistent fever.