Alefacept appears to have more effective long-term results in plaque psoriasis patients

Dallas - A new study reports that among patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis, a second course of alefacept can result in significant clinical improvement even in patients for whom the first course resulted in little significant clinical response.

The study, conducted by a research team at Baylor University Medical Center and published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, examined the clinical response to repeat treatment with alefacept in psoriasis patients who previously failed to achieve a clinical response. Of the original 521 patients, 327 received two or more additional alefacept treatments.

Among patients for whom the first treatment failed, 19 percent and 53 percent achieved Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 75 and PASI 50, respectively, after a second treatment. Compared with patients receiving a placebo, those taking alefacept were 2.6 times more likely to achieve PASI 75 and 2.3 times more likely to achieve PASI 50.

Patients who received successive courses of IV alefacept showed incremental improvement in PASI during each treatment course, the study reports, and similar findings were obtained with IM treatment.