TUESDAY, Dec. 16, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- The drug alefacept seems to reduce the severity of psoriasis, says a study in the December issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
Previous research suggests T-cells, specialized immune-response cells, are involved in psoriasis and that eliminating them reduces the severity of psoriasis.
Dr. Kenneth B Gordon, of Loyola University Medical Center, and his colleagues studied the effects of intravenous alefacept on T-cell levels and the severity of psoriasis. The phase III clinical trial included 553 people with chronic psoriasis.
The study was funded by Biogen Inc.
The patients were randomly divided into three groups. Each group received a 12-week course of treatment with alefacept or placebo. Then, some of the patients received a second 12-week course of treatment with the drug or placebo, followed by another 12 weeks of observation.
The first group received 7.5 milligrams of intravenous alefacept each week for both courses. The second group received 7.5 milligrams of intravenous alefacept each week in the first course, and 7.5 milligrams of intravenous placebo each week for the second course. The third group received 7.5 milligrams of a placebo each week in the first course and 7.5 milligrams of alefacept each week in the second course.
The study found that one or two courses of the alefacept reduced T-cell counts. The benefits of treatment lasted longest in those who had the greatest reduction in T-cell counts.
"This phase III trial indicates that the reduction in levels of circulating memory T-cell subsets with alefacept treatment correlates to improvement in psoriasis and suggests a relationship between the length of response to alefacept and alterations in the memory T-cell population," the authors write.
More information
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