title: Successful treatment of hand and foot psoriasis with efalizumab therapy.
abstract: Hand and foot psoriasis can appear in a plaque-type or pustular-type form. Any form of psoriasis that occurs on the hands and feet can have a debilitating effect on the patient's daily functions. Here we present a case series of patients with plaqueor pustular-type hand and foot psoriasis whose conditions were successfully managed with the biologic agent efalizumab. In many of these patients, the disease was refractory to multiple systemic psoriasis treatments. Treatment with efalizumab was effective and well-tolerated, with few adverse events. Many of the patients described here reported an improvement in both their physical functioning and health-related quality of life. The efficacy of efalizumab in treating these cases of hand and foot psoriasis suggests that it may provide therapeutic benefit.
authors.affiliation: Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA. sfretzin@iupui.edu
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fretzin
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.forename: Loretta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Melodie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sobell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D018845:CD11 Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005533:Foot Dermatoses / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006229:Hand Dermatoses / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D018845:CD11 Antigens; C472181:efalizumab