Etanercept might relieve fatigue and depression in psoriasis
Psoriasis is associated with depression |
Etanercept (Enbrel) might relieve fatigue and symptoms of depression
associated with psoriasis, according to research published online by The
Lancet on 15 December. However, an accompanying comment questions
whether the results are clinically relevant.
Stephen Tyring, department of dermatology, University of Texas Health
Science Centre, Houston, and colleagues conducted a randomised controlled
trial involving 618 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. Patients
received etanercept 50mg subcutaneously twice weekly or placebo for 12
weeks.
The researchers found that 47 per cent of patients in the etanercept group
achieved a 75 per cent or greater improvement from baseline in psoriasis
area and severity index compared with 5 per cent in the placebo group
(P<0.0001).
More patients in the etanercept group than in the placebo group achieved
a 50 per cent improvement in scales used to measure depression. In addition,
the researchers say that more patients in the etanercept group achieved
clinically meaningful improvements in fatigue (P<0.0001).
They note that improvements in fatigue were correlated with improvements
in joint and skin pain. “Much of the effect of etanercept upon fatigue,
therefore,must be ascribed to the presence of psoriatic arthritis,”
they say.
The authors of an accompanying comment (ibid) say that, since so few patients
in the study had moderate to severe depression, it is doubtful whether
the results are clinically relevant or meaningful to the patient. “In
future studies, it would be interesting to measure effects of anti-TNFalpha
agents in patients with psoriasis with high levels of depression and fatigue,”
they conclude. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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