October 4, 2016 I received my first two injections of Cosentyx.  I saw my regular dermatologist as well as a second opinion. Both came up with a PASI score of 15%.  When I stopped the Humira injections I was 3% at the end of August. I had to stop injecting Humira due to a severe reaction to the drug after increasing the dose from bi-weekly to weekly Humira injections.  My psoriatic arthritis has been much worse for the past few months.  Also, I have one very swollen toe caused by the psoriatic arthritis.  Schedule as follows:

Week 0= Two injections
Week 1= Two injections
Week 2= Two injections
Week 3= Two injections
Week 4= Two injections

Really hoping this will provide some relief.

Hello all. I have just signed up today! I have had psoriasis for about 25 years.age 37 now. I have been on various treatments over the years the most recent being humira and enbrel injections. I have just been approved for stelera and am waiting on a delivery. I am really hopeful of this being the one!!! Wish me luck!!

My P is usually on my elbows, one knee and a few spots here and there, plus on my scalp. I have a home uvb machine that would control it, but never completely get rid of it.

Over the last while it has become way worse. I have spots all over. The backs of my hands are covered with small spots that seem to almost merge to cover the backs. My arms, sides and legs are dotted as well my other knee, ankle, sides, butt have small potato chip sized plaques. I have a new plaque under my left eyebrow and on my forehead. Something seems to be going on with my back. The old plaques on my knee, elbows etc. are larger and way thicker. All the spots are a new extra thick style plaques.

Anyone experience this? Are all the spots guttate?

Should I consider some hardcore immune drugs?

Any insights are appreciated.

For those of you that have had good results with dovonex, did you find it took a little while for the results to be apparent or was it just a day or two like with the steroid creams. Currently been using dovonex for 3 days and it doesn't seem to be doing much as of yet except helping to keep the area moisturised...

Really hoping to see some results as using dovobet, even short term, gives me folliculitis, particularly on my biggest patch of psoriasis. And obviously it shouldn't be used long term anyway.

Hi, I was wondering if there was anywhere to look which shows pictures of examples of psoriasis coverage and what score they have?
I've only been scored once and I got the distinct impression the nurse hadn't don't it before but was just following the printed guidelines, and I'm interested to get a better idea of different levels if severity and what they look like.

Hi @all.

There are some threads here about Acitretin but i will start a new one. Maybe we can change some experiences and get some answers on open questions.

my name is phil and i am from germany so please excuse the wrong spelling and other mistakes :-) i read a lot in this forum and now i decided to give you a bit of my experiences back. there is a lot of information in this forum and all of you seem to be very nice people :-)

i am 34 and in the middle of may (so about 4.5 months ago my hand started itching. The dermatologist (is that right) said "ekzem" and gave me cortison creme and said "good luck". after 2 months of using the cream and a lot of other creme i went to the dermatologic clinic here in munich because they are specialized for treatments of the ekzem. they also said: ekzem (second time i had the diagnose of a ekzem).

So i started with a PUVA-treatment at the end of juliy until the beginning of september. it helped a bit but not as good as i was hoping and so they decided to give me toctino. The doctor that had to decide about the dose (he is something like the superstar in this hospital concerning all things with psoriasis. and, surprise: he is really nice) took a look at my hand and said that toctino is not the right medicine for psoriasis pustulosa and i had to take neotigason. nice, after 1.5 months i finally got a new diagnose.

anyway i started with 30mg per day four weeks ago. minimal side effects (i am always tired, sometimes i got a headache) but the skin on the hands and the feet is really really peelng off. blood values are also very good at the moment.
 
but no itching and no pustulosa at the moment only red skin on the hands and feet and i hope the peeling ends soon, i heard and read that this is a normal side effect. will continue with the 30mg per day until i went to the hospital in 2 weeks. 

so long, greetings from germany and all the best to all of you
philipp

As you know I don't like advertising on here and this could be looked at as a publicity stunt*. But I think it's worth showing as the results, (if correct) don't make good reading.

Quote:

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Novartis presented new findings from the largest global survey to date of people with psoriasis, showing many do not achieve the treatment goal of clear skin or even believe it is a realistic goal. People with the disease also report that they face discrimination, humiliation, and mental illness, according to the research presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress.

While real-world evidence presented at EADV demonstrated that clear skin significantly improves quality of life, the survey found over half (57%) did not achieve clear or almost clear skin, and nearly a third of people (28%) had to wait five years before receiving treatment that resulted in clear or almost clear skin.

"Every patient deserves the opportunity to achieve clear skin, but this research tells us many are not given the chance," said Vasant Narasimhan, Global Head, Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. "Novartis supports the World Health Organization's resolution to make psoriasis a global health priority and help patients overcome the heartbreaking physical, societal and psychological challenges the condition presents."

Over 8,300 people from 31 countries took part in the survey, which aimed to improve the understanding of patients' perspectives on clear skin and, importantly, the impact of not achieving it. This major research initiative represents the largest ever partnership between Novartis and patient organizations, including 25 groups from around the world.

The survey findings reinforce the need for greater education and engagement of healthcare professionals and patients about the achievability of clear or almost clear skin as a treatment goal. In addition, they demonstrate the detrimental impact psoriasis has on patients' lives. The majority of people surveyed (84%) were suffering discrimination and humiliation, while almost half (43%) of patients felt psoriasis had affected their relationships and made it difficult to form intimate relationships.

A third of people (38%) surveyed also reported that they have been diagnosed with a psychological condition due to psoriasis, with one in four diagnosed with anxiety (24%) or depression (25%). Patients with anxiety or depression were also found to suffer more severe disease and worse quality of life in other research presented at EADV, further emphasizing the link between the psychological and physical aspects of the disease.

Hi all.

So obviously steroid creams are a no no for that area so what is best to use to clear up psoriasis down there. Notice I am getting a bit on the underside of my penis, towards the scrotum (sorry for the graphic description). Its not at all flakey or raised, it just looks a bit red.

Seeing as nothing seems to have much of an affect on the psoriasis on other areas of my body except steroids-based creams, but you can't use them here, I'm a bit worried

Thanks!

I have just switched from Stelara to Cosentyx and the dose got me thinking about why they are so different.

For example:

Humira: 40mg twice per month.

Enbrel: 50mg per week.

Stelara: 45mg every three months (90mg if over 100Kg).

Cosentyx: 300mg monthly.

So why the big difference between brands?

How are your experiences with your psoriasis and relationships? Are your partners understanding and supportive? Anyone had a break up because of it?

I know this is a shallow topic and I hope no one thinks bad of me for making it. Just feeling a bit worried at the moment. Started a relationship with a great girl that I love to bits but just worried about what she may think. Only have minor psoriasis so I've been able to keep it hidden but I worry about it getting worse etc.

I know people will say 'well if it bothers her she isn't worth your time and you are better off without' which is very true but i am sure you can appreciate it doesn't make me feel much better right now.

I joined this club about a month ago for advice on my newly aquired pustular psoriosis i was advised by dermatologist to use cloboderm, exorex and dovonex on a monthly rotation also to clingfilm area after each application. On starting this advice at the moment my foot is clear, which i hope will continue. So for anybody else who suffers from pp i can recommend this treatment.

Hi Everyone, I'm new here, and wonder why I'd never stumbled across this forum in my searches before. From what I've seen thus far the community seems awesome, and very helpful. I found the forum searching for info on Taltz. I recently started Humira but more about that later. 

I recently turned 40, this month, lol. I was first suspected of having Psoriasis around 28... undiagnosed. Looking back I now think it started back in my early 20's it was slow to progress. Most recently (past 2 years) developing on my knees, elbows, and hands. I couldn't hide it anymore. 

I tried multitudes of creams and home remedies. None ever really worked, and never really worked for more than two weeks. 

I finally found a derm that seems to care, and he put me on Humira. I've done my loading dose of 2 pens followed by 1 pen 8 days later. In two weeks I begin the normal dosing of 1 pen every two weeks. 

I was about to say well thats who I am, but then I would be saying that psoriasis defines me. Which it doesn't... anymore. 

So far I'm happy with the results from Humira. More so than any other treatment I've tried.

Lilly will present data on Taltz at the annual European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress (EADV).

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-- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) will highlight clinical and patient-related health outcomes data evaluating Taltz® (ixekizumab) for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis at the annual European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress (EADV), which will take place Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2016, in Vienna, Austria.

A total of 17 abstracts, including eight oral abstracts with one late-breaker presentation, will feature sub-analyses from pivotal Phase 3 data of Taltz for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis across a number of areas.

"EADV represents a tremendous opportunity for dermatologists to exchange information that helps better address unmet needs for patients," said Dr. Lotus Mallbris, Lilly's global brand development leader for Taltz. "Lilly is excited to support the evolution of new treatments in dermatology as we share new data for Taltz in the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis."

Hi all,

I am new to this forum so sure how it works.

I have Psoriasis on my scalp elbows parts of my legs, but the worse is on my hands, I am in agony day and night,I have been given so many different creams but none of them seem to work on my hands. 

Any advise with be very much appreciated please.

Thank you.

This will be my new thread about my journey on Cosentyx.

As some may know I've been on Stelara for just over six years now and it's time to move on to something else as it's not working as well as it used to for me. You can read my journey on Stelara in these two threads if you're interested:
Stelara 16 Months On.
Stelara round two

But this about Cosentyx.

My main concern is keeping the psoriatic arthritis under control as this is the thing that causes me the most problems, so I'm going to be monitoring how well Cosentyx can help me for that.  



It comes in injections of 150mg, and one dose is two shots = 300mg

The starting dose is 300mg for 5 weeks and then a maintenance dose of 300mg and I shall be starting on the 1st October 2016 (this Saturday) Don't ask me why, but they gave me 4 doses today and I have to phone for #5

#1 1st Oct two shots of 150mg = 300mg.
#2 8th Oct two shots of 150mg = 300mg.
#3 15th Oct two shots of 150mg = 300mg.
#4 22nd Oct two shots of 150mg = 300mg.
#5 29th Oct two shots of 150mg = 300mg
From there I will be taking two shots of 150mg = 300mg every 4 weeks.

It comes in two types of shot. A pre filled Syringe and an Auto injector (Pen). I prefer using the syringes as seen in this image.



Like I said the psoriatic arthritis is more important to me and I shall be using the score systems on Psoriasis Club to keep track of my progress.
https://psoriasisclub.org/psoriasisscore.php
https://psoriasisclub.org/psoriaticarthritisscore.php

I do currently have a little bit of psoriasis on the front of my leg that has popped up so I'll put an image here. This is usually at the end of my 12 weeks run on Stelara and it's been 13 now.


Now to check my scores:

Psoriasis: 3

Psoriatic arthritis: 5

The biggest test will be when the weather changes, at the moment we are still having good weather so the psoriatic arthritis isn't too bad.

Now I just wait till Saturday and will report back when I've taken the first two shots.

*You are welcome to post in this thread, but please try to keep it On Topic.

Another bio in the pipeline, risankizumab an IL-23 inhibitor by AbbVie will have data presented at the 25th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress (EADV), September 28 - October 2, in Vienna, Austria. They will also be presenting new data on Humira.

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AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced that new data on HUMIRA® (adalimumab) and investigational medicine risankizumab (formerly BI 655066), an IL-23 inhibitor, will be presented at the 25th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress (EADV), September 28 - October 2, in Vienna, Austria. These presentations build upon AbbVie's continued scientific leadership in serious dermatological conditions including psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and hidradenitis suppurativa.

"AbbVie's presence at EADV 2016 highlights the latest scientific research in difficult-to-treat skin conditions, including data underscoring the considerable impact these diseases can have on a person's physical, social and emotional wellbeing and the need for quality care," said Shao-Lee Lin, Vice President Therapeutic Areas and International Development, AbbVie. "Additionally, building on our deep experience over more than 18 years in immunology with HUMIRA, we are excited to present the latest results of data evaluating investigational compound risankizumab, an IL-23 biologic for patients living with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis."

New data from studies evaluating investigational IL-23 monoclonal biologic antibody, risankizumab, will be presented from the Phase 2 open-label extension study in moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

AbbVie will also present HUMIRA two-year safety and efficacy results for the treatment of moderate to severe HS, as well as multiple health economics outcomes research studies revealing the real-world burden of HS on patients and demonstrating AbbVie's commitment to the underserved HS community. Further, new seven year interim results from the ESPRIT 10-year post-marketing surveillance safety registry of HUMIRA will report safety and effectiveness of HUMIRA treatment for moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

Hey guys, I'm Sam. Im a 22 year old male. My mum has psoriasis and up until recently I thought I was spared. Ended up getting a serious throat infection and having a psoriasis outbreak afterwards. Also around this time Id broken up with my first girlfriend and was very stressed which effects it alongside a chaotic lifestyle in which I was heavily drinking, smoking and using illicit drugs. Psoriasis came in waves and up until july was manageable apart from on my legs. Tried putting coconut oil on them after recommendation from a friend and the condition worsened getting very itchy, I picked at it constantly thinking I might have scarred it. Ended up going to doctors and got prescribed Dovobet. It all went downhill from here. Dovobet whilst working at first triggered a massive reaction in me. Ended up getting it on my scalp, genitals thighs, heavily on lower legs, moderately on arms and back. Needless to say I was mortified. Have since got it slightly under control by giving up smoking and drinking and taking drugs less alongside the use of lecithin, dermol 500, chlorella, meditation and citrus fruits. This has massively impacted my self steem and I find it's making me very tired alot of the time. Any help would be appreciated, Glad to be a part of this community as feel a bit uncomfortable bringing it up around friends sometimes.

This study was to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of weekly oral pulse doses of azathioprine for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis, and to determine the side effects of this regimen both clinically and biochemically.

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Background:
Azathioprine is a potent immunosuppressive drug that has been used in many immune-mediated diseases. There are a few reports of its use in psoriasis; however, azathioprine weekly pulse doses have not been evaluated in this disease.

Aim:
The objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of weekly oral pulse doses of azathioprine for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis, and to determine the side effects of this regimen both clinically and biochemically.

Methods:
In this open-label clinical trial, a 300 mg bolus dose of azathioprine was given once every week orally for 24 weeks to patients with chronic plaque psoriasis having body surface area involvement of ≥ 10% and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) of ≥ 10. Patients were evaluated every 4 weeks for 24 weeks to determine the response to treatment and any adverse effects (AEs), and then followed up for a further period of 12 weeks to determine any relapse of the disease.

Results:
There were 50 patients in the study, of whom 28 (56%) completed the 24 weeks of treatment and 27 (54%) completed the 12-week post-treatment follow-up. Azathioprine 300 mg weekly pulse was effective in achieving PASI 75 in 42% of patients, PASI 90 in 36% of patients and PASI 100 in 22% of patients. In five patients (10%), the therapy had to be withdrawn due to AEs.

Conclusion:
Weekly azathioprine pulse appears to be an effective treatment for chronic plaque psoriasis, and can be used as an alternative therapy to other available therapeutic agents.

This study set out to evaluate quantitatively the TNF-α-neutralizing activity of the plasma of patients with psoriasis during TNF-α antagonist therapy and to determine poor responders objectively.

Quote:

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Background:
Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α antagonist therapy is currently used for moderate and severe psoriasis. However, this treatment has several drawbacks, including interindividual variability in clinical response and secondary loss of effectiveness.

Objectives:
To evaluate quantitatively the TNF-α-neutralizing activity of the plasma of patients with psoriasis during TNF-α antagonist therapy and to determine poor responders objectively.

Methods:
We used a human interleukin-8 reporter monocyte cell line, THP-G8, that harbours a stable luciferase orange (SLO) gene under the control of the interleukin-8 promoter. After confirming its dose-dependent response to exogenous TNF-α, we examined the suppressive activity of TNF-α antagonists and of the patients’ plasma during TNF-α antagonist therapy on TNF-α-induced SLO luciferase activity (TNF-SLO-LA).

Results:
Pretreatment of TNF-α with TNF-α antagonists or with the plasma of patients with psoriasis who achieved 75% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75) dose dependently suppressed TNF-SLO-LA. There was a significant correlation between change in PASI and percentage suppression (inhibitory rate of a 1 : 2 dilution of patient plasma on TNF-SLO-LA). A percentage suppression of 50·3% has a positive predictive value of 87% of achieving PASI 75, with a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 80%.

Conclusions:
Therapeutic monitoring of patients with psoriasis during TNF-α antagonist therapy using THP-G8 can provide a useful tool to determine objectively the efficacy of the administered TNF-α antagonists.

This review by Spherix Global Insights a business intelligence and market research company suggests that more and more US rheumatologists are prescribing Cosentyx for psoriatic arthritis

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US rheumatologists are increasingly adopting Novartis’ IL-17 inhibitor, Cosentyx, into their treatment algorithm for psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Cosentyx users report high levels of satisfaction and excitement about the results their PsA patients are achieving with the latest biologic, with over one-quarter of current users citing that they are extremely satisfied with the agent. Furthermore, half of current non-users anticipate initiating trial of Cosentyx within the next three months.

With Cosentyx prescriptions in PsA on the rise, over one-third of rheumatologists believe that Janssen’s Stelara is the most likely to be replaced. Additionally, one-third of rheumatologists also report that Cosentyx has a significant efficacy advantage over Stelara.

With respect to Celgene’s Otezla, rheumatologists believe Cosentyx has a significant advantage over Otezla regarding efficacy in PsA. Indeed, rheumatologists report lower overall satisfaction with the PDE4 inhibitor than with the biologics available in PsA.

Cosentyx appears to be paving the PsA highway for IL-17 inhibitors, much like it paved the way for early adoption of Eli Lilly’s Taltz (ixekizumab) in Psoriasis. Indeed, the vast majority of surveyed rheumatologists foresee a role for Taltz, as well as for Valeant and AstraZeneca’s Siliq (brodalumab) in the future treatment of PsA. Furthermore, the majority of rheumatologists agree that the addition of IL-17 inhibitors as treatment options will greatly improve their ability to efficiently treat PsA.