Enbrel is a man-made protein that blocks a chemical messenger called TNF (tumor necrosis factor). Blocking TNF quiets the abnormal immune responses seen in arthritis -- and in psoriasis.
Craig L. Leonardi, MD, of St. Louis University, and colleagues tested three different doses of Enbrel in 652 adult patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. After 24 weeks of treatment:
59% of high-dose patients (50 mg injections twice a week) had at least 75% improvement -- 55% reported "clear" or "almost clear" status.
44% of medium-dose patients (25 mg injections twice a week) had at least 75% improvement -- 39% reported "clear" or "almost clear" status.
25% of low-dose patients (25 mg injections once a week) had at least 75% improvement -- 26% reported "clear" or "almost clear" status.
"Rapid clearing of skin lesions is an important aspect of effective psoriasis management and may correlate with the patient's satisfaction with treatment," Leonardi and colleagues write. "After two weeks of treatment, [Enbrel] produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in patients' global assessments of disease and in the quality of life."
