Arthritis drug Etanercept clears up symptoms of psoriasis

New research from the United States has found that a drug commonly used to treat arthritis significantly reduces the symptoms of psoriasis in children.

Psoriasis is a distressing chronic inflammatory disease which occurs when the immune system causes skin cells to grow at an accelerated rate.

It is characterized by painful and itchy, red, scaly patches which disfigure the scalp, face, arms, legs, feet and genitals.

One third of psoriasis cases begin in childhood, and the disease is frequently physically and psychologically disabling; in adults it is linked to an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, liver disease and clinical depression.

Psoriasis affects around 125 million people worldwide.

Etanercept was first approved in 1998 for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and has been used in nearly 500,000 patients worldwide.

Researchers from the Feinberg School of Medicine at the University of Chicago conducted a 48-week study designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of etanercept for children.

The drug was tested on a group of 211 psoriasis patients between 4 and 17 years old; of the group, over a 12-week period, 106 were given etanercept and 105 a placebo.

During that time there were no serious adverse events or serious infections and the most common adverse event during the 48-week trial were upper respiratory tract infection, headache, and nasopharyngitis.

In more than half of patients, a three-month course of weekly injections of etanercept, cleared at least three quarters of the red scaly skin patches caused by the condition.

Although etanercept has previously been used with adult victims of psoriasis, this is the first trial which shows it is safe and effective in children.

The results are important because current treatments for children and adolescents with psoriasis are limited and can have serious side-effects.

Lead author Professor Amy Paller, says the children's lives have been changed by being in the study and they are making more progress now than with any other treatment.

Another study published earlier this month also suggested that etanercept could rapidly reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

The New England Journal of Medicine.