New development in the treatment of psoriasis--infliximab

Abstract

TNF-alpha may have an impact on principal pathological phenomena in psoriatic skin through inducing inflammatory cells migration from blood vessels. It follows that blockade of TNF-alpha should diminish inflammation and normalize keratinocyte proliferation in psoriasis. Infliximab is a mouse-human chimeric monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the biologic activity of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) by binding to the soluble and transmembrane forms of this cytokine and inhibiting its binding to the receptors. We present literature data concerning both application of infliximab in patients with psoriasis and its side effects.