André Vicente Esteves de Carvalho

Identification of key research needs for topical therapy treatment of psoriasis - a consensus paper by the International Psoriasis Council.

In this age of expanding choices of therapy for psoriasis, topical therapies still play an important part in the management of patients. There are many knowledge gaps in topical therapy for psoriasis with regard to efficacy and safety as well as various combinations including topical therapy with phototherapy or with systemic agents. Councillors of the International Psoriasis Council comprised a topical therapy working group to describe these gaps in order to help direct future research endeavours. Herein, we present the results of this analysis, discuss topical agents in clinical development and the attributes of the ideal topical treatment for psoriasis.

HLA and skin cancer

Skin cancer - melanoma and non melanoma - are common neoplasm with rising incidence over the last decades. It is an important public health problem. Its pathogenesis is not completely understood and the same happens with the genetic factors involved. The genes that encode the HLA are associated with some tumors and they may be responsible for one of the mechanisms that take part in the development of the before mentioned cancers. We have reviewed the literature on the subject of HLA antigens, melanoma and non melanoma skin cancer.

Ceratose pilar e ulerythema ophryogenes em mulher com monossomia do braço curto do cromosomo 18

Partial monosomy of the short arm of chromosome 18 (18p- syndrome) is characterized mainly by speech delay, mild to moderate mental retardation and short stature. We describe a patient with the 18psyndrome and widespread severe keratosis pilaris and ulerythema ophryogenes. This is the fourth case in which such an association has been reported. This association is of considerable interest because it may uncover a candidate genomic region and help to identify the gene responsible for follicular keratinization

Freqüência de dermatoses infecciosas em 208 pacientes transplantados renais

BACKGROUND: Chronic immunosuppressive therapy predisposes renal transplant recipients to a heightened susceptibility to infectious dermatoses. OBJECTIVES: evaluate the frequency of infectious dermatoses in 208 renal transplant recipients over a 12-month period and verify the relation between the onset of dermatoses and the time elapsed since transplantation. METHOD: 208 renal transplant recipients, taken from a population of 720 transplant recipients, received a dermatological examination for a year. Dermatopathological examination, mycological examination, bacteriologic examination, and cultures were taken from suspected lesions. RESULTS: the prevalence of infectious dermatosis was 89.4% in this population. The more frequent fungal, viral and bacterial infections were respectively pitiyriasis versicolor (17.8%), warts (32.2%), and folliculitis (4.3%). CONCLUSION: infectious dermatoses are common in renal transplant recipients. Their occurrence is progressively higher as time passes after the transplantation, therefore making the frequent dermatological examination of these recipients very important.

Biosimilars in psoriasis: Clinical practice and regulatory perspectives in Latin America

Latin American countries view biosimilar agents as an effective approach to curtail health‐care expenditures while maintaining the safety and efficacy profile of their branded innovator comparators. To understand the complexities of the regulatory landscape and key therapeutic issues for use of biosimilars to treat moderate to severe psoriasis in Latin America, the International Psoriasis Council convened dermatology experts from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico in October 2015 to review the definition, approval, marketing and future of biosimilars in each country and develop a consensus statement. The regulatory framework for marketing approval of biosimilars in Latin America is currently a mosaic of disparate, country‐specific, regulatory review processes, rules and standards, with considerable heterogeneity in clarity and specificity. Regulations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico have undergone multiple refinements whereas Colombia is finalizing draft guidelines. Verification of the similarity in quality, safety and efficacy of biosimilars to the innovator biologic remains a key challenge for policy makers and regulatory authorities. Other key regulatory challenges include: naming of agents and traceability, pharmacovigilance, extrapolation of indications, and interchangeability and substitution. An urgent need exists for more Latin American countries to establish national psoriasis registries and to integrate their common components into a multinational psoriasis network, thereby enhancing their interpretative power and impact. A Latin American psoriasis network similar to PSONET in Europe would assist health‐care providers, pharmaceutical companies, regulators and patients to fully comprehend specific products being prescribed and dispensed and to identify potential regional trends or differences in safety or outcomes.

Psoriasis comorbidities: complications and benefits of immunobiological treatment

During the last decade, different studies have converged to evidence the high prevalence of comorbidities in subjects with psoriasis. Although a causal relation has not been fully elucidated, genetic relation, inflammatory pathways and/or common environmental factors appear to be underlying the development of psoriasis and the metabolic comorbidities. The concept of psoriasis as a systemic disease directed the attention of the scientific community in order to investigate the extent to which therapeutic interventions influence the onset and evolution of the most prevalent comorbidities in patients with psoriasis. This study presents scientific evidence of the influence of immunobiological treatments for psoriasis available in Brazil (infliximab, adalimumab, etanercept and ustekinumab) on the main comorbidities related to psoriasis. It highlights the importance of the inflammatory burden on the clinical outcome of patients, not only on disease activity, but also on the comorbidities. In this sense, systemic treatments, whether immunobiologicals or classic, can play a critical role to effectively control the inflammatory burden in psoriatic patients.

The use of ustekinumab in a patient with severe psoriasis and positive HBV serology.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory, immune-mediated disease that affects 1% to 2% of the worlds population. Immunobiological medications are prescribed for certain patients with severe forms of psoriasis, however, these drugs increase the risk of reactivation of viral diseases such as hepatitis B. We report the case of a patient with severe psoriasis with positive serology for the Hepatitis B virus, who received ustekinumab (a human monoclonal antibody against interleukin 12 and 23). In this patient, the use of ustekinumab did not reactivate the Hepatitis B virus. Given the high prevalence of chronic viral infections in patients who are candidates for biologic therapy, as well as the potential for reactivate chronic viral illness, randomized controlled studies are needed to assess the risks and benefits of such therapy in these populations.

Topical treatment of psoriasis: questionnaire results on topical therapy accessibility and influence of body surface area on usage

Topical treatment of mild to moderate psoriasis is first‐line treatment and exhibits varying degrees of success across patient groups. Key factors influencing treatment success are physician topical treatment choice (high efficacy, low adverse events) and strict patient adherence. Currently, no formalized, international consensus guidelines exist to direct optimal topical treatment, although many countries have national guidelines.

Sarcoma de Kaposi em paciente transplantada renal em uso de Fk-506

Kaposis sarcoma is a cutaneous and extra cutaneous multicentric malignancy that has been widely described in renal-transplant patients under classic immunosuppressive therapy. This study describes a renal-transplant patient under immunosuppressive therapy with FK-506 who presented Kaposis sarcoma 10 months after the transplantation.

The association between psoriasis and health-related quality of life, work productivity, and healthcare resource use in Brazil

Background Psoriasis is a chronic, immune mediated inflammatory condition that affects a significant amount of the global population. Yet geographic variability in the consequences of psoriasis warrants region-level analyses. Objective The current study contributes to the psoriasis outcomes literature by offering a comprehensive assessment of the humanistic and economic burden in Brazil. Methods The 2012 Brazil National Health and Wellness Survey (N=12,000) was used to assess health-related quality of life (Short Form-12, version 2), work productivity, and healthcare resource use associated with experiencing psoriasis vs. no psoriasis, along with varying levels of psoriasis severity. Results A total of 210 respondents reported diagnosis of psoriasis (N=157, 42, and 11 reporting mild, moderate, and severe psoriasis, respectively). Compared with controls, respondents with psoriasis reported diminished mental component summary scores and health utilities, as well as increased presenteeism, activity impairment, and physician visits over the past six months, adjusting for covariates. Among those with psoriasis, physical health decreased as psoriasis severity increased. Although work productivity and healthcare resource utilization did not differ with psoriasis severity, the high rates of productivity loss (e.g. 45.5% presenteeism in the severe psoriasis group) suggest an economic burden. Study limitations Cost analyses were not performed, and cross-sectional patient-reported data limit causal conclusions and may reflect reporting biases. Conclusions Nevertheless, these results suggest a significant burden to patients with psoriasis across both humanistic and economic outcomes. The association between psoriasis and mental health aspects and health utilities were particularly strong and exceeded what would be considered clinically meaningful.BACKGROUND Psoriasis is a chronic, immune mediated inflammatory condition that affects a significant amount of the global population. Yet geographic variability in the consequences of psoriasis warrants region-level analyses. OBJECTIVES The current study contributes to the psoriasis outcomes literature by offering a comprehensive assessment of the humanistic and economic burden in Brazil. METHODS The 2012 Brazil National Health and Wellness Survey (N=12,000) was used to assess health-related quality of life (Short Form-12, version 2), work productivity, and healthcare resource use associated with experiencing psoriasis vs. no psoriasis, along with varying levels of psoriasis severity. RESULTS A total of 210 respondents reported diagnosis of psoriasis (N=157, 42, and 11 reporting mild, moderate, and severe psoriasis, respectively). Compared with controls, respondents with psoriasis reported diminished mental component summary scores and health utilities, as well as increased presenteeism, activity impairment, and physician visits over the past six months, adjusting for covariates. Among those with psoriasis, physical health decreased as psoriasis severity increased. Although work productivity and healthcare resource utilization did not differ with psoriasis severity, the high rates of productivity loss (e.g. 45.5% presenteeism in the severe psoriasis group) suggest an economic burden. STUDY LIMITATIONS Cost analyses were not performed, and cross-sectional patient-reported data limit causal conclusions and may reflect reporting biases. CONCLUSIONS Nevertheless, these results suggest a significant burden to patients with psoriasis across both humanistic and economic outcomes. The association between psoriasis and mental health aspects and health utilities were particularly strong and exceeded what would be considered clinically meaningful.