Exclusively genital psoriasis successfully treated with Risankizumab

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated disease affecting 125 million people worldwide. 1 At least 65% of psoriasis patients experience an episode of genital psoriasis 2 but exclusively genital localization is rare (2%-5% of all patients). 3 About two thirds of patients report that they have never applied therapies and often there is no discussion of a specific strategy of treatment for the site traditionally considered difficult to treat. 2 Genital psoriasis has a deleterious impact on quality of life, is often considered an obstacle for a stable relationship and 80% of patients believe that their pathology is underestimated. Itching is considered the most common symptom, pain or dyspareunia are reported in 20% of cases, especially in women. Patients often develop depression, with career repercussions. 4 Combinations of steroids are used as topical therapies, secondarily dithranol, pimecrolimus or tacrolimus are also available. 2

Risankizumab for the treatment of genital psoriasis: A 1‐year, real‐world experience

“…6,7 However, specific experiences on the treatment of genital psoriasis with risankizumab are scant and have a short follow-up. [8][9][10] We conducted a retrospective, 'real-world' study, with a 1-year follow-up, on risankizumab in the treatment of genital psoriasis. Consecutive adult (≥18 years) patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis involving the genital area and treated with risankizumab (150 mg administered subcutaneously at weeks 0, 4 and every 12 weeks thereafter) were enrolled.…”

More than a genital psoriasis

“…by Ceccarelli et al 1 It is well known that some areas are more difficult to treat than others and it is surely important to report the efficacy of an IL-23 inhibitor in such sensible localizations, like genitals. Indeed, only a few real-life studies investigated the efficacy of risankizumab on difficult sites (scalp, nails, genitals, and folds), showing that the involvement of genitals seems not to affect the achievement of PASI90 and PASI100.…”