Treatment of psoriasis with the chimeric monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor alpha, infliximab.

Abstract Background: Psoriatic skin lesions in patients with Crohn's disease or psoriatic arthritis have shown improvement during infliximab treatment. Objective: The purpose of our study was to systematically assess the effects of infliximab in patients with psoriatic skin lesions. Methods: Eight patients with severe psoriasis were enrolled in an open-label clinical trial. Patients received infliximab, 5 mg/kg, intravenously at weeks 0, 2, and 6. The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) was used to monitor disease activity at weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 14. Week 10 was the end point of the treatment phase; week 14 was the follow-up end point. Pruritus was assessed on a scale of 0 to 3…