Biological and synthetic target DMARDs in psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic multi-faceted immune-mediated systemic disorder, characterized by articular, cutaneous, enthesis, nail and spine involvement. Articular manifestations of PsA are particularly common and highly disabling for patients, while the heterogeneous clinical subsets of the disease are challenging for clinicians. In recent years, research has made many advances in understanding the pathogenesis of the disease from genetic, epigenetic and molecular points of view. New drugs are now available for the treatment of this condition, and, in particular, TNF-alfa inhibitors, historically the first biologicals approved in PsA, are now juxtaposed by new biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) with different modes of action. Targeting IL-12/IL-23 p40 common subunit with ustekinumab, IL-17A with secukinumab and ixekizumab, T cells co-stimulation with abatacept, is now possible, safe and effective. Moreover, targeted synthetic molecules with oral administration are available, with the possibility to interfere with phosphodiesterase-4 and JAK/STAT pathways. Indeed, new drugs are under development, with the possibility to target selectively IL-17 receptor, IL-23, and other key molecular targets in the pathogenesis of this condition. In this narrative review, we provide an up-to-date overview of the current application of biological and targeted synthetic DMARDs in the field of PsA, with particular regard to the clinical significance of this possibility to target a higher number of distinct immune-pathways.