Usefulness of the Psoriatic Arthritis Screening and Evaluation Questionnaire to Monitor Disease Activity in Management of Patients with Psoriasis: Findings from the EPI-PSODE Study.

Background: Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are included in the group of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) caused by systemic inflammation; however, indicators for monitoring inflammatory activity in patients with psoriasis, such as the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), are limited.

Objective: To determine whether the Psoriatic Arthritis Screening and Evaluation (PASE) questionnaire can be used to monitor disease activity in patients with psoriasis.

Methods: This was a multicenter, noninterventional, cross-sectional study.

The Clinical Profile of Patients with Psoriasis in Korea: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study (EPI-PSODE).

Background: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated, chronic inflammatory disease affecting multiple aspects of patients' lives. Its epidemiology varies regionally; however, nationwide epidemiologic data on psoriasis depicting profile of Korean patients has not been available to date.

Objective: To understand nationwide epidemiologic characteristics and clinical features of adult patients with psoriasis visited university hospitals in Korea.

Relation between the Peripherofacial Psoriasis and Scalp Psoriasis.

Background: Facial involvement of psoriasis is known to be one of the clinical manifestations that indicate the severity of the psoriasis and thought to be more closely associated with certain distribution. Centrofacial (CF) psoriasis has been suggested to be related with severity of systemic disease while peripherofacial (PF) psoriasis has been thought to have connection with scalp psoriasis.

Objective: To analyze the epidemiologic characteristics, clinical features and subjective feelings of patients with facial psoriasis and to find out relationship between scalp psoriasis and facial involvement according to the facial types.

A multicenter, randomized, open-label pilot trial assessing the efficacy and safety of etanercept 50 mg twice weekly followed by etanercept 25 mg twice weekly, the combination of etanercept 25 mg twice weekly and acitretin, and acitretin alone in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.

Background: Etanercept, a soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor, and acitretin have been shown to be effective in treating psoriasis. Acitretin is widely used in Korea. However, the combination of etanercept plus acitretin has not been evaluated among Korean patients with psoriasis.

Facial Psoriasis Log-based Area and Severity Index: A valid and reliable severity measurement method detecting improvement of facial psoriasis in clinical practice settings.

Facial psoriasis is often observed in moderate to severe degrees of psoriasis. While we previously demonstrated construct validity of the facial Psoriasis Log-based Area and Severity Index (fPLASI) system for the cross-sectional evaluation of facial psoriasis, its reliability and accuracy to detect clinical improvement has not been confirmed yet. The aim of this study is to analyze whether the fPLASI properly represents the range of improvement for facial psoriasis compared with the existing facial Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (fPASI) after receiving systemic treatments in clinical practice settings.

Comparison of Treatment Goals for Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis between Korean Dermatologists and the European Consensus Report.

Background: The development of therapies for psoriasis has led to the need for a new strategy to the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. New consensus guidelines for psoriasis treatment have been developed in some countries, some of which have introduced treatment goals to determine the timing of therapeutic regimens for psoriasis.

Objective: To investigate the opinions held by Korean dermatologists who specialize in psoriasis about treatment goals, and to compare these with the European consensus.

Remission period in psoriasis after multiple cycles of narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy.

The aim of this study was to investigate the duration of remission periods in psoriasis after narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy, especially during multiple cycles of treatment. We analyzed 63 patients (101 cases) demonstrating marked improvement after NB-UVB phototherapy. The remission period was defined as the duration of time from the end of phototherapy until treatment using either phototherapy or systemic treatments was required again.

Clinical study on psoriasis patients for past 30 years (1982-2012) in Seoul National University Hospital Psoriasis Clinic.

Psoriasis is a chronic relapsing disorder which shows variable clinical features. The long-term clinical study with many patients is important to elucidate the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical features of psoriasis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical features of psoriasis in Korean patients.

Objective measurements of erythema, elasticity and scale could overcome the inter- and intra-observer variations of subjective evaluations for psoriasis severity.

Background: Most conventional subjective assessments for psoriasis have inevitable inter- and intra-observer variations.

Objective: We investigated the objective bioengineering parameters of color and mechanical properties which are possible substitutes of the erythema, scale, and thickness scores of psoriatic plaque.

Methods: Age, gender, and Psoriasis Severity Index (PSI) were noted.

Ustekinumab improves health-related quality of life in Korean and Taiwanese patients with moderate to severe psoriasis: results from the PEARL trial.

Background: The PEARL study showed that the proportion of psoriasis patients achieving the primary endpoint (at least 75% improvement from baseline to week 12 in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) was significantly higher in ustekinumab-treated patients compared with placebo. There is a paucity of data regarding the impact of psoriasis and its treatment on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Asian patients.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of ustekinumab on HRQoL in Korean/Taiwanese patients with moderate to severe psoriasis enrolled in the phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled PEARL study.

Pemphigus Foliaceus Associated with Psoriasis during the Course of Narrow-Band UVB Therapy: A Simple Coincidence?

Although psoriasis and bullous diseases are considered to be completely different disease entities, the literature has reported a few cases of psoriasis associated with bullous diseases, most of which are bullous pemphigoid. In limited cases, pemphigus foliaceus has also been reported in association with psoriasis. In most of them, pemphigus lesions usually developed on an untreated patient with a chronic history of psoriasis.

Epidemiology and clinical features of pediatric psoriasis in tertiary referral psoriasis clinic.

Few epidemiological studies of pediatric patients with moderate to severe psoriasis have been available despite there being no approved systemic therapy for these patients. The aim of the present study was to elucidate clinical features of pediatric psoriasis in a tertiary referral psoriasis clinic. We analyzed the clinical data of 358 patients under 18 years of age referred to our clinic from other private clinics and medical centers.

Clinical study of psoriasis occurring over the age of 60 years: is elderly-onset psoriasis a distinct subtype?

Background: Previous studies demonstrated clinical differences of early- and late-onset psoriasis. However, epidemiological data and clinical characteristics of psoriasis occurring in geriatric patients have been rarely studied.

Objective: Assessment of epidemiology and clinical features of psoriasis first occurring over the age of 60 years, so-called elderly-onset psoriasis, based on clinical data.

Efficacy and safety of ustekinumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis: a phase III, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Taiwanese and Korean patients (PEARL).

Background: Ustekinumab has been evaluated in Caucasian patients with psoriasis, but no studies have been conducted in Asian patients.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in Taiwanese and Korean patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Methods: In this 36-week, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 121 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis were randomized (1:1) to receive subcutaneous injections of ustekinumab 45mg at weeks 0, 4, 16 or placebo at weeks 0, 4 and ustekinumab 45mg at weeks 12, 16.

No evidence for increased skin cancer risk in Koreans with skin phototypes III-V treated with narrowband UVB phototherapy.

Narrowband ultraviolet B (nbUVB) phototherapy is used around the world for the treatment of various skin diseases. However, the carcinogenic risk associated with nbUVB treatment in patients with skin phototypes III-V has not been studied. This retrospective study compared the incidence of skin cancer in Korean patients with skin phototypes III-V treated with nbUVB with that in a control Korean population.

Recovery from tanning induced by narrow-band UVB phototherapy in brown-skinned individuals with psoriasis: twelve-month follow-up.

Background: Pigmentation induced by narrow-band UVB (NBUVB) phototherapy can cause complaints by psoriasis patients, especially those with brown skin. Nevertheless, the recovery process from tanning after the completion of NBUVB treatment is not known.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of tanning recovery after the end of NBUVB treatment and determine the time required to recover from the fully tanned state.

A retrospective review of 20% vs. 10% incremental narrowband UVB regimens to treat psoriasis in skin phototypes III-V Koreans.

Background: The optimal incremental dose regimen of narrowband UVB (NBUVB) phototherapy that will provide maximal efficacy and safety has not been determined for patients with brown skin and psoriasis.

Objective: To compare 20% and 10% incremental dose regimens of NBUVB phototherapy with respect to efficacy and safety in Korean patients with brown skin and psoriasis whose Fitzpatrick skin phototypes (SPT) are III-V.

Method: A retrospective study was designed to compare the 20% and 10% incremental dose groups with respect to the number of sessions, duration of treatment, maximum dose, cumulative dose until response, and adverse effects.

Pilot study on photodynamic therapy for acne using indocyanine green and diode laser.

To demonstrate the efficacy of photodynamic therapy using indocyanine green (ICG) dye with a diode laser for acne treatment of Asian subjects, an analysis was performed of 16 randomly chosen Korean patients with acne vulgaris treated by photodynamic therapy for a mean follow up of 2 months. Volunteers were divided into two groups, a single- and multiple-treatment group, in which photodynamic therapy was repeated three times with 1-week intervals. Photodynamic therapy using ICG dye with a diode laser was effective for acne treatment of Korean subjects.