In Italy there are about 3 million people living with psoriasis, a chronic disease that typically has a cyclical trend, made up of improvements and worsening. “A pathology that the patient never got rid of until recently – says Gabriella Fabbrocini, professor of skin and venereal diseases at the Federico II University of Naples – Today, however, therapies based on biological and biosimilar drugs allow to have a completely clean skin quality from the disease; a reduction, if not the disappearance, of painful symptoms affecting the joints, as regards people with psoriatic arthritis (about 15-20% of psoriasis), and is easily it is easy to understand how this also has a positive effect on the quality of life of patients “.
Patients otherwise forced to deal with patches, macules distributed throughout the body or located in some parts that are difficult to treat (scalp, nails, palms and feet), and which in some cases are associated with manifestations affecting the joints in the hands (sleeve finger), sudden pain in the knee, wrist or ankle, which over time may extend to groups of joints.
“These therapies are effective in a constant and long-term manner – again Fabbrocini – This is demonstrated by clinical trials, 4-year observation studies. And then there are the safety data: the molecules we use today have adverse effects that fall within the average of the adverse events. adverse that we would have with any drug and perhaps even inferior to traditional therapies “. The new therapies used today to control psoriatic disease in all its manifestations were at the center of the 30th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV), scheduled from 29 September to 2 October in virtual mode due to anti-Covid rules.
According to Fabbrocini, the last EADV Congress brought out “a lot of data in favor of innovative therapies that can change the lives of psoriatic patients. Among these we find the molecule risankizumab which affects interleukin 23 and which has demonstrated its remarkable efficacy in psoriatic disease both in the moderate and severe form that involves only the skin, and in the form that affects the joints. Clinical trials have shown that an efficacy of almost 90% can be achieved at 52 weeks, and this efficacy is maintained even in a longer period of observation. Clearly, clinical trials must find a confirmation in clinical practice and in real life “.
“Based on our experience, therefore on the data we have obtained on patients being treated at Federico II – reports the dermatologist – we can say that the molecule has actually proved to be very effective already from the second administration, both on skin manifestations and on symptoms, first of all the itching, but also on the joint and painful symptoms. Against this it has also shown high levels of safety, as confirmed by the studies presented at the Eadv. In addition, the molecule risankizumab has a very convenient method of administration , once every 12 weeks “.