Dimethyl fumarate - only an anti-psoriatic medication?
Fumaric acid esters have been used successfully in the therapy of psoriasis vulgaris since 1959. In the last 17 years, many of the underlying mechanisms of anti-psoriatic action, such as a Th1/Th2 shift, a suppression of important leukocyte adhesion molecules, the induction of pro-apoptotic pathways in T-cells and recently anti-angiogenic action, have been discovered. Based on the knowledge of these immunomodulatory characteristics, fumaric acid esters have been shown to be effective or potentially effective in a multitude of dermatological as well as non-dermatological diseases. The range of new therapeutic targets reaches from multiple sclerosis to illnesses such as necrobiosis lipoidica, granuloma annulare and sarcoidosis. Experimental approaches offer promising, although preliminary, results on the treatment of cancer, malaria, chronic inflammatory lung diseases, and Huntington disease, to name but a few. This valued and well-known drug mainly prescribed by dermatologists is now experiencing a renaissance far beyond dermatologic applications.
Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University of Frankfurt, Germany. markus.meissner@kgu.de
Markus
M
Meissner
Eva Maria
EM
Valesky
Stefan
S
Kippenberger
Roland
R
Kaufmann
D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069462:Dimethyl Fumarate; D005650:Fumarates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016460:Granuloma Annulare / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009335:Necrobiosis Lipoidica / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D056687:Off-Label Use; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000188:drug therapy*
D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D005650:Fumarates; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D000069462:Dimethyl Fumarate