Review Article

Treatment of Nail Psoriasis: Common Concepts and New Trends

Table 3

Biologic therapies for treatment of nail psoriasis.

AuthorYear InterventionComparison ProtocolResultsLoE [16]

Fabroni et al. [55]201148Infliximab5 mg/kg, iv infusion at weeks 0, 2, 6 and every 8 weeks through week 38NAPSI-50 is achieved in 85% of patients at week 14, 96% at week 22, 98% at week 38; NAPSI-75 is achieved in 23% of patients at week 14, 65% at week 22, 81% at week 38; NAPSI-90 is achieved in 29% of patients at week 38N/A

Rich et al. [54]2008305InfliximabPlacebo 5 mg/kg, iv infusion at weeks 0, 2, 6 and every 8 weeks through week 4626% and 57% improvements in NAPSI scores at weeks 10 and 24 and complete clearance of target nail in 45% of patients at 1 yearA2

Rigopoulos et al. [56]200818Infliximab5 mg/kg iv infusion at weeks 0, 2, 6 and every 8 weeks through week 38Significant decrease in NAPSI scores (56 at baseline to 30 at week 14, 16 at week 22, 7 at week 30, and 3.3 at week 38)N/A

Bianchi et al. [53]200525Infliximab5 mg/kg, iv, at weeks 0, 2, 6, 14, 22NAPSI-50 is achieved in all patients at week 14; NAPSI-75 is achieved in all patients at week 22N/A

Leonardi et al. [57]201136AdalimumabPlacebo80 mg, sc at week 0, 40 mg every other week starting at week 1, through week 16; patients in the placebo group were started to receive active treatment starting at week 16, through week 28Significantly higher improvement in NAPSI scores in the treatment arm (50% versus 8%) at week 16; once switched to adalimumab, patients in the initial placebo group improved 38% at week 28, while patients who began the study with adalimumab continued to improve to 54%N/A

Van den Bosch et al. [58]2010259Adalimumab40 mg, sc, at every other week through week 12 Mean NAPSI scores are reduced by 44% at week 12N/A

Rigopoulos et al. [59]201021Adalimumab80 mg, sc at week 0, 40 mg every other week starting at week 1, through week 24Significant improvement in all patients after 8th injection; fingernail NAPSI decreased from 11 at baseline to 4 at week 24 in patients with just cutaneous psoriasis and from 24 to 10 in patients with psoriatic arthritisN/A

Ortonne et al. [60]201269Etanercept Etanercept 1st group 50 mg weekly for 24 weeks and 2nd group 50 mg twice weekly for the first 12 weeks, 50 mg weekly for the other 12 weeks, scBoth dose regimens are effective for nail psoriasis and significant improvement in NAPSI scores in both groups at week 24N/A

Luger et al. [61]2009564Etanercept25 mg twice weekly for 54 weeks or 50 mg twice weekly for 12 weeks, continued with 25 mg twice weekly in case of relapse, scNAPSI scores improved by 29% at week 12, by 51% at week 54, complete resolution in 30% of patientsN/A

Kavanaugh et al. [62]2009287GolimumabPlacebo50 or 100 mg, sc, every 4 weeks through week 24Significant improvements started as early as at week 14: 25% reduction in NAPSI scores in 50 mg group, 43% reduction in 100 mg group at week 14, 33% reduction in 50 mg, and 54% reduction in 100 mg group at week 24B

Körver et al. [63]20068Alefacept15 mg weekly, im, for 12 weeks3 patients showed significant improvement, 3 patients unchanged, and 2 patients worsenedN/A

Parrish et al. [64]200615Alefacept15 mg weekly, im, for 12 weeks39% reduction in NAPSI scores at week 24N/A

Cassetty et al. [65]20056Alefacept15 mg weekly, im, for 12 weeks3 patients showed ≥30% improvement in NAPSI scores, 1 unchanged, and 2 worsenedN/A

Patsatsi et al. [66]201327Ustekinumab45 mg, sc, at weeks 0, 4 and every 12 weeks thereafter (90 mg if patient weight > 100 kg)Significant improvements in NAPSI scores (43% at week 16, 86% at week 28, and 100% at week 40)N/A

Vitiello et al. [67]201313Ustekinumab90 mg ( , patients weight > 100 kg), sc, at weeks 0, 4 and every 12 weeks thereafter or 45 mg in combination with MTX ( ) or CsA ( )38% reduction in NAPSI scores in monotherapy group, 27% reduction in MTX combination, complete resolution in CsA combination group, at week 12N/A

Igarashi et al. [68]2012102UstekinumabPlacebo45 or 90 mg, sc, at weeks 0, 4 and every 12 weeks through 72 weeks, placebo group with crossover to ustekinumab at week 12Improvement in NAPSI scores: 57% in 45 mg group, 68% in 90 mg group at week 64A2

Reich et al. [69]2011317BriakinumabMTXBriakinumab 200 mg at weeks 0 and 4, 100 mg every 4 weeks through week 48, sc, MTX 5–25 mg/week for 51 weeksNAPSI scores of the target fingernail significantly lower with the briakinumab group at weeks 24 and 52, as compared with the methotrexate groupN/A

: number of patients.
sc: subcutaneous.
iv: intravenous.
im: intramuscular.
N/A: not applicable.
NAPSI: nail psoriasis severity index.
MTX: methotrexate.
CsA: cyclosporine.
LoE: level of evidence (A2: randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of good quality, B: randomized controlled trial of poor quality).