title: Cutaneous Adverse Events Associated with Interferon-β Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.
abstract: Interferons are widely used platform therapies as disease-modifying treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis. Although interferons are usually safe and well tolerated, they frequently cause dermatological side effects. Here, we present a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient treated with interferon-β who developed new-onset psoriasis. Both her MS as well as her psoriasis finally responded to treatment with fumarates. This case illustrates that interferons not only cause local but also systemic adverse events of the skin. These systemic side effects might indicate that the Th17/IL-17 axis plays a prominent role in the immunopathogenesis of this individual case and that the autoimmune process might be deteriorated by further administration of interferons. In conclusion, we think that neurologists should be aware of systemic cutaneous side effects and have a closer look on interferon-associated skin lesions. Detection of psoriasiform lesions might indicate that interferons are probably not beneficial in the individual situation. We suggest that skin lesions may serve as biomarkers to allocate MS patients to adequate disease-modifying drugs.
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie, Venerologie und Allergologie, Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. kolb_a@ukw.de.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kolb-Mäurer
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie, Venerologie und Allergologie, Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. goebeler_m1@ukw.de.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goebeler
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Neurologie, Caritas Krankenhaus Bad Mergentheim gGmbH, Uhlandstr. 7, 97980 Bad Mergentheim, Germany. Mathias.Maeurer@ckbm.de.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mäurer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D016899:Interferon-beta
keywords: cutaneous adverse events; interferon-β; multiple sclerosis; psoriasis; therapy