Apremilast Mechanism of Efficacy in Systemic-Naive Patients With Moderate Plaque Psoriasis: Pharmacodynamic Results From the UNVEIL Study

Psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by overproliferation of keratinocytes and epidermal thickening resulting from dysregulated immune responses.[1,2] This chronic condition, which affects approximately 1% to 4% of the world ’s population, is often associated with comorbidities, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.[3–7] The pathogenesis of psoriasis involves keratinocyte recruitment of myeloid dendritic cells, which produce interleukin (IL)-23 to activate T he lper 17 (Th17) cells.[2,8,9] Th17 cells, in turn, produce several cytokines that are known to be involved in the inflammatory disease process in psoriasis, including IL-17 and IL-22.[2,8] It also has been suggested that dysfunction of other T-cell populations, such as regulatory T cells, may contrib ute to the pathogenesis of psoriasis.[9–12]
Source: Journal of Dermatological Science - Category: Dermatology Authors: Source Type: research