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Efalizumab is approved for treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis vulgaris. Its efficacy and safety have also been studied in patients with psoriatic arthritis, but presumably the trial endpoints were not met and efalizumab’s maker did not pursue this indication. Despite its relative lack of toxicity, presumptions about this drug’s ineffectiveness for arthritis may be the reason for its more-limited use compared with tumor necrosis factor α antagonists.
In a retrospective review of 450 French patients undergoing efalizumab therapy for psoriasis, the authors identified 16 who developed de novo arthritis during therapy. They analyzed the relation between skin and joint manifestations in these patients, as well as the course of the psoria…