title: A 36-week retrospective open trial comparing the efficacy of biological therapies in nail psoriasis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nail psoriasis occurs in about 50% of psoriatic patients and can be psychologically devastating since it appears on visible areas. Up to now there is no evidence about what biological drugs is the most effective on nail psoriasis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to determine if one of the four biological drugs approved in our country (infliximab, adalimumab, etanercept, ustekinumab) is more effective than the others for nail psoriasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A single-center, retrospective study was conducted to assess the efficacy of biological therapies in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis with nail involvement. NAPSI was evaluated in all psoriatic patients. Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A global statistically significant improvement in mean NAPSI from baseline to 12, 24 and 36 weeks was observed in all patients. At 12 weeks 27.78% of the patients reach NAPSI 75, at 24 weeks 81.48% and at 36 weeks 88.89%. The improvement in nail psoriasis is not significantly different between groups. An improvement in the mean Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score was also achieved
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Biological therapies have shown to ameliorate psoriatic nail lesions. We did not find any statistically significant differences between the four biological drugs investigated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Specialized, Diagnostic and Experimental Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bardazzi
authors.forename: Valentina A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Antonucci
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tengattini
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Odorici
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balestri
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patrizi
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009260:Nail Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001688:Biological Products; D003879:Dermatologic Agents