Infliximab: Effective Therapy for Pustular Psoriasis

Pustular psoriasis is often resistant to the standard therapies used to treat psoriasis vulgaris. Methotrexate, acitretin, and cyclosporine have been reported to be beneficial in the treatment of both psoriasis vulgaris and pustular psoriasis. Unfortunately, these agents have many side effects, which frequently preclude their use, and their efficacy in pustular psoriasis is often limited. We report a patient with pustular psoriasis whose skin disease cleared after administration of infliximab, a chimeric IgG monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Prior to treatment with infliximab, she had failed several therapeutic trials of both topical and systemic agents.