Therapeutic hotline. Treatment of pityriasis rubra pilaris with etanercept.

Abstract

Pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) or Devergie's disease is a chronic and rare papulosquamous disorder of unknown etiology characterized by reddish orange scaly plaques, palmoplantar keratoderma, and keratotic follicular papules. The present authors report a case of a 30-year-old woman with clinical and histologic signs of PRP (type I adult onset, Griffith's classification). After a few unsuccessful treatments, the present authors chose to start etanercept. Total clearing of the lesions was achieved 5 months after starting the drug. Etanercept is a TNF-α inhibitor, and today it is largely used in the treatment of several dermatological diseases through blockage of the inflammatory cytokine. The true mechanism of action in PRP remains to be explained; however, the favorable results in our case raise new questions about TNF-α's role in PRP and suggest a therapeutic alternative for resistant cases to classic treatments. To date, there are only three case reports of PRP treated with etanercept in the literature.

• Authors: Rita Guedes, Luiz Leite
• Journal: Dermatologic therapy (Dermatol Ther) 2011 Mar-Apr Vol. 24 Issue 2 Pg. 285-6 ISSN: 1529-8019 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 21410618 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Chemical References

• Dermatologic Agents
• Immunoglobulin G
• Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor
• Etanercept

Topics

• Adult
• Biopsy
• Dermatologic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Etanercept
• Female
• Humans
• Immunoglobulin G (therapeutic use)
• Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris (diagnosis, drug therapy)
• Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor (therapeutic use)
• Skin (drug effects, pathology)
• Time Factors
• Treatment Outcome