Study examines risk of heart attack associated with various psoriasis treatments

August 20, 2012 in Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Use of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors for treatment of psoriasis is associated with a significantly reduced risk for heart attack (myocardial infarction) compared to other forms of treatment, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Dermatology.

"The effect of systemic treatment for psoriasis on cardiovascular disease has been largely unexplored," the authors write as background information in the study. "The primary objective of this study was to assess whether patients with psoriasis treated with TNF inhibitors have a decreased risk of MI [] compared with those not treated with TNF inhibitors (i.e., those who received oral agents/phototherapy or )."

Jashin J. Wu, M.D., of the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, and colleagues, conducted a retrospective study that included patients with at least three ICD-9-CM codes for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, without antecedent MI, between January 2004 and November 2010.

Of the 8,845 patients included in the study, 5,075 (57.4 percent) were not treated with any systemic therapy or phototherapy (topical treatment group), 1,673 (18.9 percent) received a TNF inhibitor for at least two consecutive months (TNF treatment group) and 2,097 (23.7 percent) were treated with oral systemic agents or phototherapy (oral/phototherapy treatment group).

After adjusting for other MI risk factors, patients in TNF inhibitor treatment group and the oral/phototherapy treatment group had a significantly lower risk of MI (50 percent and 46 percent, respectively) compared with patients in the topical treatment group. Differences in risk between the TNF inhibitor group and oral/phototherapy group did not reach statistical significance.

"Future prospective studies are needed and warranted to determine whether the use of TNF inhibitors may reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with systemic ," the authors conclude.

More information: Arch Dermatol. Published online August 20, 2012. doi:10.1001/archdermatol.2012.2502

Journal reference: Archives of Dermatology search and more info website

Provided by JAMA and Archives Journals search and more info website

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Little evidence for prediction rules for low back pain

(HealthDay)—Few randomized clinical trials have been done to assess clinical prediction rules for patients with lower back pain, and the trials that have been done are of low quality and do not provide ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 18 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New malaria test kit gives a boost to elimination efforts worldwide

A new, highly sensitive blood test that quickly detects even the lowest levels of malaria parasites in the body could make a dramatic difference in efforts to tackle the disease in the UK and across the world, according to ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 23 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

WHO says single yellow fever shot is enough

(AP)—The World Health Organization says a yellow fever booster vaccination given 10 years after the initial shot isn't necessary.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 23 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

23 dead in initiation rites in South Africa

(AP)—Twenty-three youths have died in the past nine days at initiation ceremonies that include circumcisions and survival tests, South African police said Friday.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 3

Expert questions US public health agency advice on influenza vaccines

The United States government public health agency, the CDC, pledges "To base all public health decisions on the highest quality scientific data, openly and objectively derived." But Peter Doshi, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


AIDS science at 30: 'Cure' now part of lexicon

Big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS on Tuesday, 30 years after French researchers identified the virus that causes the disease.

For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests

Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or ...

Melon focus headband turns to Kickstarter for rollout plans

(Medical Xpress)—What if the quality of your work depends more on your focus on the piano keys or canvas or laptop than your musical or painting or computing skills? If target users can be convinced, they ...

Temporal processing in the olfactory system

The neural machinery underlying our olfactory sense continues to be an enigma for neuroscience. A recent review in Neuron seeks to expand traditional ideas about how neurons in the olfactory bulb might encode information about ...

Now we know why old scizophrenia medicine works on antibiotics-resistant bacteria

In 2008 researchers from the University of Southern Denmark showed that the drug thioridazine, which has previously been used to treat schizophrenia, is also a powerful weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as ...

Individuals who drink heavily and smoke may show 'early aging' of the brain

Treatment for alcohol use disorders works best if the patient actively understands and incorporates the interventions provided in the clinic. Multiple factors can influence both the type and degree of neurocognitive abnormalities ...