Alefacept: a review of the literature and practical guidelines for management

Dermatologic Therapy
Emmilia Hodak, Michael David

Abstract

Alefacept is the first biologic agent approved for the treatment of chronic, moderate to severe plaque-type psoriasis. It is a fully human fusion toxin, which binds to CD2, blocks costimulatory signaling, and selectively induces apoptosis of activated memory T cells involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Alefacept has a slow onset of action, peaking approximately 18 weeks after the first injection of a 12-week course. However, it has several important advantages over the existing conventional immunosuppressive therapies for psoriasis: it is associated with long remissions without the need for maintenance therapy; its efficacy improves with subsequent courses; and it has a high safety profile. This review summarizes the mechanism of action of alefacept and the results of the clinical trials, with special emphasis on efficacy, pharmacodynamic effects on circulating lymphocytes, and safety and tolerability. Current guidelines based on the best available data to date are also presented.

References

Jul 1, 1993·The Journal of Experimental Medicine·G T MillerB P Wallner
Feb 17, 1999·The Journal of Experimental Medicine·M OzawaJ G Krueger
Jul 20, 1999·Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology·J Koo, M Lebwohl
Jul 14, 2001·Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV·P CarliB Giannotti
Jul 28, 2001·The New England Journal of Medicine·C N EllisUNKNOWN Alefacept Clinical Study Group
Nov 13, 2001·Clinical and Experimental Immunology·H SigmundsdóttirH Valdimarsson
Nov 27, 2002·Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology·Gerald G KruegerUNKNOWN Alefacept Clinical Study Group
May 20, 2003·The British Journal of Dermatology·G G Krueger, C N Ellis
Jun 11, 2003·Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV·J-P Ortonne
Aug 2, 2003·Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology·Gerald G Krueger, Kristina P Callis
Sep 10, 2003·Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology·Emmilia HodakMichael David
Oct 25, 2003·Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology·Alice B GottliebKenneth B Gordon
Oct 25, 2003·Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology·Jeffrey P CallenUNKNOWN AAD
Dec 17, 2003·Archives of Dermatology·Kenneth B GordonUNKNOWN Alefacept Clinical Study Group
Jun 21, 2005·Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology·Carin H GribetzMark Lebwohl

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jan 18, 2015·Clinical Immunology : the Official Journal of the Clinical Immunology Society·Ulrike ErbenAnja A Kühl
Oct 23, 2009·Dermatologic Therapy·Eihab A AlwawiKenneth B Gordon
Apr 9, 2008·Dermatologic Therapy·Julia Tzu, Francisco Kerdel
May 31, 2008·The Journal of Dermatological Treatment·David CarrSteven R Feldman

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a specific process that leads to programmed cell death through the activation of an evolutionary conserved intracellular pathway leading to pathognomic cellular changes distinct from cellular necrosis

Related Papers

Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery
Richard G LangleyCharles Lynde
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Gerald G Krueger, Kristina P Callis
Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy
Richard G LangleyAditya K Gupta
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved