Treatment of psoriatic arthritis with etanercept, a tumour necrosis factor antagonist

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic spondylarthritis that occurs in approximately 23% of plaque psoriasis sufferers. Traditional treatments for rheumatoid arthritis have been used as the first therapeutic approach to treat this inflammatory disease, which has both joint and skin manifestations. However, due to the inefficiency of current disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in stopping the progression of the joint disease, biologics have emerged as a hopeful alternative to PsA therapy. Etanercept was the first approved tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitor for reducing the signs and symptoms of PsA, as well as preventing the progression of the disease. Etanercept is a fully human, soluble, dimeric fusion protein that has the ability to bind to two molecules of TNF, thereby rendering them biologically inactive. Two clinical trials have demonstrated that etanercept is generally a safe, efficacious and well-tolerated biologic therapy for the treatment of PsA.