By Doug Macron

NEW YORK, Mar 07 (Reuters Health) - A drug already approved in the US for Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis may also prove effective against psoriasis, according to results of a study presented at a medical meeting this week.

Infliximab, sold under the brand name Remicade by drug company Centocor, blocks the production and activity of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), a key mediator of inflammation in the body.

According to researchers from the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey (UMDNJ), TNF-alpha may play a similar role in causing psoriasis as it does in triggering the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease, which is characterized by diarrhea, cramping, and loss of appetite. The research team presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology this week.

In a 10-week trial, 33 adults with moderate-to-severe psoriasis were given single infusions of either high- or low-dose infliximab, or an inactive placebo.

After 10 weeks, 82% of those treated with the smaller doses of infliximab and 91% of those receiving the higher doses responded to treatment, versus 18% of patients who took the placebo.

Infliximab appeared to be well tolerated, the researchers said in a news release. A total of three patients dropped out of the trial, one from each treatment group.

A spokesman for Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Centocor, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, told Reuters Health that based on these data, a late-stage clinical trial of infliximab for psoriasis will begin enrollment in the second half of 2001.

Related MEDLINEplus Pages:

• Psoriasis