According to researchers at the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, etanercept is a safe and highly effective treatment option for children when it comes to reducing psoriasis flare-ups in pediatric patients. It is important to note here that the drug has already been approved by the FDA for adults but was not previously tested in children.
Amy Paller, M.D., a professor of dermatology and of pediatrics, and the chair of dermatology at the Feinberg School, remarked that this drug can go a long way in changing life of children suffering from psoriasis.
From News-Medical.Net:
Etanercept is a type of protein that blocks the action of a substance produced by the immune system called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). People with immune diseases such as plaque psoriasis have too much TNF in their bodies.
The new drug option is significant because existing treatments for children and adolescents are limited, inconvenient and carry risks. They also do not work effectively for all children.
Some treatments include greasy topical steroids or ultraviolet light therapy, which carries the risk of skin cancer. Another option is chemotherapy drugs, which suppress the immune system and can potentially damage the liver and the kidneys, or cause hypertension.
“From what we can see so far, etanercept is a much safer alternative,” Paller said. She hopes the study results will spur the drug’s approval by the FDA for pediatric use.
“Psoriasis can be extremely alienating for children,” Paller noted. “I’ve had patients, especially during teenage years, who have been quite depressed by their disease. If they’re being teased or excluded by other kids, or have to exclude themselves from sports because it’s uncomfortable, that has profound implications on their ego development.”
It is believed that etanercept can showcase its real worth by giving a new meaning and redefining social image and outer presence of children who have been fighting against psoriasis, which is a disease that results in abnormal growth of skin cells at an accelerated rate.
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