Intramuscular alefacept improves health-related quality of life in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis

Abstract

Background: Psoriasis profoundly affects patient quality of life (QOL). Amevive (alefacept), a novel and selective biologic agent, was clinically effective and significantly improved QOL in a phase 2 study.

Methods: The present placebo-controlled, randomized phase 3 study examined the effects of a 12-week course of intramuscular alefacept on QOL in 507 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis using both dermatology-specific questionnaires [Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI); Dermatology Quality of Life Scales (DQOLS)] and the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), a generic, general health questionnaire.

Results: All 3 QOL measures (DLQI, DQOLS, SF-36) demonstrated that alefacept 15 mg was significantly more effective than placebo in improving QOL in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. In addition, the improvements in QOL for patients in the alefacept 15 mg group were of similar magnitude for all 3 QOL measures.

Conclusion: The findings of this study are an important addition to the QOL literature for psoriasis treatments.