Patient Adherence to Biologic Agents in Psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Low adherence to therapies in psoriasis decreases treatment outcomes and increases the total health care costs. In spite of the wide use of biologic agents, patients' adherence to these drugs has not been extensively investigated. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to measure adherence to the biologic drugs in a population of patients treated for psoriasis vulgaris using the medication possession ratio (MPR) index and to survey patients' attitudes to the treatment. METHODS: This is a single-center study on 247 patients with psoriasis vulgaris treated with adalimumab (n = 113), etanercept (n = 39), and ustekinumab (n = 95). MPR calculation was calculated monthly based on the hospital records documenting the dispensing of biologics to the patients. Clinical data [Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), presence of psoriatic arthritis, concomitant treatment, and cause for treatment discontinuation] were obtained from the national database DERMBIO. Patients' attitudes and beliefs were measured using the Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS). RESULTS: A total of 93.5% of all patients had an MPR ≥0.8, indicating very good adherence. MPR was independent of patients' age, gender, median PASI or DLQI score, concomitant diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, or treatment with methotrexate. MPR for etanercept was slightly lower than that for ustekinumab and adalimumab. The MARS questionnaire documented satisfactory understanding of the treatment and its adverse effects, and positive attitudes to the treatment. CONCLUSION: Adherence to biologic therapies is very high in patients with psoriasis, which is consistent with a positive attitude to the treatment.

Widely tunable asymmetric long-period fiber grating with high sensitivity using optical polymer on laser-ablated cladding.

We demonstrate high-efficiency, wideband-tunable, laser-ablated long-period fiber gratings that use an optical polymer overlay. Portions of the fiber cladding are periodically removed by CO(2) laser pulses to induce periodic index changes for coupling the core mode into cladding modes. An optical polymer with a high thermo-optic coefficient with a dispersion distinct from that of silica is used on a deep-ablated cladding structure so that the effective indices of cladding modes become dispersive and the resonant wavelengths can be efficiently tuned. The tuning efficiency can be as high as 15.8 nm/ degrees C, and the tuning range can be wider than 105 nm (1545-1650 nm).

Wide-range tunable Fabry-Perot array filter for wavelength-division multiplexing applications.

A new design for a Fabry-Perot-based array filter for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) applications is proposed. The device is composed of two partially reflective mirrors; the surface of one of the mirrors is stepwise. Not only does the configuration of multiple air-gap cavities into a single unit provide wavelength tunability but the channel numbers can be expanded. A four-channel multiplexer has been demonstrated. The results revealed that a compact and cost-effective WDM device should be easily attainable.