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Background: Scarce data related to the drug survival of biologic agents in psoriasis patients aged ≥65 years is available., Objectives: To evaluate the drug survival of interleukin (IL)-23 or the IL-17 inhibitors approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis in elderly patients (aged ≥65 years), compared with younger adult patients (aged <65 years), and to identify clinical predictors that can influence the drug survival., Methods: This retrospective multicentric cohort study included adult patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, dissecting two-patient subcohorts based on age: elderly versus younger adults. Kaplan-Meier estimator and proportional hazard Cox regression models were used for drug survival analysis., Results: We included 4178 patients and 4866 treatment courses; 934 were elderly (1072 treatment courses), and 3244 were younger patients (3794 treatment courses). Drug survival, considering all causes of interruption, was higher in patients aged <65 years than in elderly patients overall (log-rank p < 0.006). This difference was significant for treatment courses involving IL-23 inhibitors (p < 0.001) but not for those with IL-17 inhibitors (p = 0.2). According to both uni- and multi-variable models, elder age was associated with an increased risk of treatment discontinuation (univariable analysis: HR: 1.229, 95% CI 1.062-1.422; p < 0.006; multivariable analysis: HR: 1.199, 95% CI 1.010-1.422; p = 0.0377). Anti-IL-23 agents were associated with a reduced likelihood of treatment discontinuation after adjusting for other variables (HR: 0.520, 95% CI 0.368-0.735; p < 0.001). Being previously treated with IL-17 inhibitors increased the probability of discontinuation., Conclusions: Elderly patients with psoriasis have an increased risk of biologic treatment discontinuation compared with younger adult patients, particularly, if being treated with IL-23 inhibitors. However, in stratified analyses conducted in elderly patients, IL-23 inhibitors showed higher drug survival rates than IL-17 inhibitors., (© 2024 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.)

Introduction: The aim of this observational, multicenter study was to assess the real-world use of brodalumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in patients in the Czech Republic, using data from the BIOREP registry., Methods: The study included 273 patients aged ≥ 18 years with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who received brodalumab. Endpoints were drug survival (time from treatment initiation to discontinuation), effectiveness [Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)], and health-related quality-of-life [Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)]., Results: Predicted drug survival probability was 92.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 89.1, 95.7%] at 6 months and 84.2% (95% CI 79.5, 89.1%) at 12 months; this was maintained at 24 months [80.4% (95% CI 74.5, 86.8%)]. Younger age, higher body mass index, and no previous biologic treatment were significantly associated with longer drug survival. Absolute PASI ≤ 3 after 3 months was achieved by 89.8% of patients; 92.4%, 77.8%, and 59.1% reached PASI 75, PASI 90, and PASI 100, respectively. After 12 months, 96.5% of 141 patients had an absolute PASI ≤ 3. The proportion of patients achieving DLQI 0/1 was 87.3% at 12 months., Conclusion: This study demonstrated high and sustained drug survival with high rates of skin clearance and improved quality of life in patients with relatively severe disease treated with brodalumab. Improvements were observed as early as 3 months post-treatment initiation and were sustained for up to 24 months in a real-life setting., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Drug survival, defined as the length of time from initiation to discontinuation of a given therapy, allows comparisons between drugs, helps to predict patient's likelihood of remaining on a specific treatment, and achieving the best decision for each patient in daily clinical practice., Objective: The aim of this study was to provide data on drug survival of secukinumab, ixekizumab, brodalumab, guselkumab, tildrakizumab, and risankizumab in a large international cohort, and to identify clinical predictors that might have an impact on the drug survival of these drugs., Methods: This was a retrospective, multicentric, multi-country study that provides data of adult patients with moderate to severe psoriasis who started treatment with an interleukin (IL)-17 or IL-23 inhibitor between 1 February 2015 and 31 October 2021. Data were collected from 19 distinct hospital and non-hospital-based dermatology centers from Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. Kaplan-Meier estimator and proportional hazard Cox regression models were used for drug survival analysis., Results: A total of 4866 treatment courses (4178 patients)-overall time of exposure of 9500 patient-years-were included in this study, with 3164 corresponding to an IL-17 inhibitor (secukinumab, ixekizumab, brodalumab) and 1702 corresponding to an IL-23 inhibitor (guselkumab, risankizumab, tildrakizumab). IL-23 inhibitors had the highest drug survival rates during the entire study period. After 24 months of treatment, the cumulative probabilities of drug survival were 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89-0.95) for risankizumab, 0.90 (95% CI 0.88-0.92) for guselkumab, 0.80 (95% CI 0.76-0.84) for brodalumab, 0.79 (95% CI 0.76-0.82) for ixekizumab, and 0.75 (95% CI 0.73-0.77) for secukinumab. At 36 months, only guselkumab [0.88 (95% CI 0.85-0.91)], ixekizumab [0.73 (95% CI 0.70-0.76)], and secukinumab [0.67 (95% CI 0.65-0.70)] had more than 40 patients at risk of drug discontinuation. Only two drugs had more than 40 patients at risk of drug discontinuation at 48 months, with ixekizumab demonstrating to have a higher cumulative probability of drug survival [0.71 (95% CI 0.68-0.75)] when compared with secukinumab [0.63 (95% CI 0.60-0.66)]. Secondary failure was the main cause for drug discontinuation. According to the final multivariable model, patients receiving risankizumab, guselkumab, and ixekizumab were significantly less likely to discontinue treatment than those receiving secukinumab. Previous exposure to biologic agents, absent family history of psoriasis, higher baseline body mass index (BMI), and higher baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) were identified as predictors of drug discontinuation., Conclusion: The cumulative probability of drug survival of both IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors was higher than 75% at 24 months, with risankizumab and guselkumab demonstrating to have overall cumulative probabilities ≥ 90%. Biological agent chosen, prior exposure to biologic agents, higher baseline BMI and PASI values, and absence of family history of psoriasis were identified as predictors for drug discontinuation. Risankizumab, guselkumab, and ixekizumab were less likely to be discontinued than secukinumab., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The IL-17 cytokine family encompasses six different homodimers and heterodimers referred to as IL-17A-F. Due to some differences in the mechanism of IL-17 inhibition, aninsufficient effect of one IL-17 inhibitor does not necessarily imply lack of efficacy of the other agent of the same class. Aim of study was analysis of the success rate of switches among IL-17 inhibitors (secukinumab, ixekizumab, and brodalumab) in patients treated in the Czech Republic. Data were obtained from the Czech nationwide registry of psoriatic patients receiving biological/targeted therapy (BIOREP). Our analysis involved data of a total of 90 patients with severe chronic plaque psoriasis and baseline PASI scores >10 both prior to first-line biological therapy initiation and after switch to another agent of the class of IL-17 inhibitors. The most effective switch was that from secukinumab to brodalumab, with PASI 90 reached by 64.7% and 73.3% of patients at weeks 12 and 24. Among patients switched from secukinumab to ixekizumab target PASI 90 responses were achieved (at weeks 12 and 24) by 41.2% and 55.2% of patients. Among patients switched from ixekizumab to brodalumab target PASI 90 responses were achieved, at the above time points, by 30.8% and 38.5% of patients. Our analysis showed a high success rate of switches from secukinumab to ixekizumab and brodalumab, followed by the ixekizumab-to-brodalumab switch. Importantly, the therapeutic response and success rates of individual switches are independent of the patient's body weight and presence of psoriatis arthritis., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Current knowledge about human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in psoriasis patients treated with biologics is limited. In this study we evaluated the prevalence of oral and genital HPV infection in psoriasis patients treated with biologics or topical therapy for at least 6 months. The presence of HPV DNA in oral rinse and genital smears was evaluated. In total, 267 patients who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate were enrolled: 110 (41.2%) on topical therapy, 84 (31.5%) on anti-TNF-alpha therapy, 31 (11.6%) on anti-IL-12/23 therapy and 42 (15.7%) on anti-IL-17 therapy. The presence of genital HPV infection was detected in 34.6% of men receiving anti-TNF-α treatment, in 25.0% of patients on anti-IL-12/23 and 18.8% of patients on anti-IL-17 therapy. The difference in prevalence was not statistically different from men on topical treatment (26.3%). Prevalence of oral HPV infection was higher across all of the biologic groups (11.9% for anti-TNF-α, 12.9% for anti-IL-12/23 and 19.0% for anti-IL-17) compared to patients on topical therapy (7.3%), but statistically significant only for anti-IL-17 (p < 0.05). The presence of oral HPV infection in patients treated with biologics was significantly higher (44.0%) in patients on long-term biologic treatment (>8 years) compared to patients taking biologics for a shorter period (9.1%; p < 0.01). Our results suggest that patients on biologics for psoriasis have a higher prevalence of oral HPV infection compared to patients on topical treatment. Long-term treatment with biologics seems to be associated with a higher prevalence of oral HPV infection, independent of previous conventional immunosuppressive therapy., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Real-world data on the use of interleukin-17 (IL-17) inhibitors for the treatment of psoriasis are limited., Objective: To evaluate and compare the efficacy, safety, and drug survival of IL-17 inhibitors., Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the BIOREP registry data of patients treated with at least one IL-17 inhibitor (secukinumab, ixekizumab, and brodalumab)., Results: In total, 949 patients were included. The improvement in PASI score was significant for all drugs, and the proportion of patients achieving PASI 75, 90, and 100 after both 3 and 24 months of therapy was highest for brodalumab, followed by ixekizumab and secukinumab. The Dermatology Life Quality Index score decreased to ˂3 after 3 months and to ˂2 after 24 months of therapy for all inhibitors. Loss of effectiveness was the major reason for discontinuation in 17.2% of patients, followed by adverse events in 3.2% of patients. The drug survival probability was the highest for brodalumab, followed by ixekizumab and secukinumab. Negative predictors for treatment discontinuation were obesity and the number of treatment lines, whereas a positive predictor was the presence of concomitant psoriatic arthritis; sex had no influence., Conclusion: This real-life study demonstrated the effectiveness and good safety profile of all currently available IL-17 inhibitors.

Background: Drug survival analysis of biologic agents in psoriasis is of extreme importance, as it allows not only the evaluation of objective clinical outcomes (such as effectiveness and safety) but also of factors that are associated with patients' adherence to treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the drug survival of the most recent biologic agents approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis-ustekinumab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, brodalumab, guselkumab, and risankizumab-and to identify clinical predictors that can influence the drug survival of these drugs., Methods: This retrospective multicentric cohort study from 16 dermatology centers in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Canada, and the United States included patients that started IL-12/23, IL-17 (IL-17A and IL-17R) and IL-23 inhibitors for the treatment of psoriasis between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2019. Survival analysis was performed using a Kaplan-Meier estimator, to obtain descriptive survival curves, and proportional hazard Cox regression models., Results: A total of 3312 treatment courses (total patients: 3145) were included in the study; 1118 (33.8%) with an IL-12/23 inhibitor (ustekinumab), 1678 (50.7%) with an IL-17 inhibitor [911 (27.5%) on secukinumab, 651 (19.7%) on ixekizumab, 116 (3.5%) on brodalumab], and 516 (15.5%) with an IL-23 inhibitor [398 (12.0%) on guselkumab, 118 (3.5%) on risankizumab]. At 18 months, the cumulative probability of survival was 96.4% for risankizumab, 91.1% for guselkumab, 86.3% for brodalumab, 86.1% for ustekinumab, 82.0% for ixekizumab, and 79.9% for secukinumab. Using ustekinumab as reference, drug survival of guselkumab was higher (HR 0.609; 95% CI 0.418-0.887) and that of secukinumab was lower (HR 1.490; 95% CI 1.257-1.766). In the final multivariable model, secukinumab, female sex, higher BMI, and prior exposure to biologic agents significantly increased the risk of drug discontinuation, whereas risankizumab was protective., Conclusion: In this multinational cohort with 8439 patient-years of follow-up, the cumulative probability of drug survival for all drugs was >79% at 18 months. Prescribed biologic, female sex, higher BMI, and previous exposure to biologic agents were predictors of drug discontinuation. Drug survival of guselkumab and risankizumab was higher than that of ustekinumab, and secukinumab was lower.

BIOREP is a Czech registry of patients with psoriasis undergoing biological treatment. The objective of the study was to compare differences in demographic data, previous therapy, comorbidities, severity of psoriasis, quality of life, drug survival rates, and reasons for discontinuation between men and women. We analyzed a cohort of patients from the registry treated between May 2005 and January 2020. The total study population of 2472 patients (4051 treatment series) included 913 females and 1559 males. Women were significantly older than men at the onset of the biological treatment (47.8 vs 45.4 years, P < .0012) and the mean durations of psoriasis and that from its diagnosis until initiation of biological therapy, were longer in women (29.6 vs 27.2 years and 23.2 vs 20.6 years, P < .0012). Women as compared with men were also more often diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis (43.5% vs 33.0%, P < .0012). The prevalence rate of comorbidities was equivalent for both sexes except for that of depression (11.4% females vs 3.7% males, P < .0012). Both the DLQI and PASI scores were significantly different at baseline (DLQI = 16.0 and PASI = 19.5 for men vs DLQI 17.6 = and PASI = 17.7 for women, P < .0012). The survival probability with biological therapy was significantly lower in women for both biologically naïve and non-naïve patients, and there was more evidence of adverse effects in women. Our research demonstrates significant differences relative to multiple factors associated with psoriasis between men and women., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Psoriasis patients are at increased risk of atherosclerosis, characterized by endothelial dysfunction, linked through systemic inflammation. Anti-TNF-a therapy seems to decrease this risk. The purpose of this study was to measure the levels of serum markers associated with systemic inflammation in psoriasis patients, compared to healthy individuals and to investigate the change in their levels after 3 months and 2 years of adalimumab therapy. We investigated four biomarkers: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), oxidized low-density lipoproteins (OxLDL), E-selectin, and Interleukin 22 (IL-22). These markers were measured in healthy volunteers and in 28 patients with moderate/severe psoriasis before and after 3 and 24 months of treatment with adalimumab. Psoriasis patients had increased levels of markers in comparison to the control group. After 3 months of therapy, E-selectin decreased significantly (P < .001), as well as IL-22 (P < .001). hsCRP also decreased but did not show a statistical significance, OxLDL were slightly higher than initially. After 24 months, 17 patients were still being treated with adalimumab. In these patients, hsCRP (P < .05), E-selectin (P < .001) and IL-22 (P < .001) were significantly decreased. OxLDL remained at a higher level. The stable decrease of E-selectin, hsCRP, and IL-22 after 24 months confirms that adalimumab suppresses systemic inflammation., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Adalimumab therapy has an established record of high efficacy in psoriasis treatment. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated long-term results in clinical practice., Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of adalimumab in a center for biological therapy in the Czech Republic., Methods: Retrospectively, we analyzed 90 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis who were treated with adalimumab between 2008 and 2016. The proportion of patients achieving PASI75, 90, and 100 after 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months was determined., Results: The mean period of treatment was 4.4 years (maximum duration reached was 8.6 years). PASI75 was observed in 85.6% of patients after 3 months, PASI90 in 50%, and PASI100 in 23.3%. Throughout the 3-year analysis, PASI90 was persistent in 91.4% and PASI100 in 51.7%. The majority of patients who reached PASI100 showed a trend to maintain the response in the long-term follow-up. No safety issues were identified., Conclusions: Adalimumab is effective and safe in the long-term treatment of psoriatic patients in daily clinical practice. Once patients achieved PASI100, they tended to remain stable in treatment.

Background: Biologics have greatly improved psoriasis management. However, primary and secondary non-response to treatment requires innovative strategies to optimize outcomes., Objective: To describe the use of combined treatment of biologics with conventional systemic agents or phototherapy in daily clinical practice., Methods: We collected data on frequency of use, demographics, treatment characteristics and drug survival of biologics combined with conventional systemic agents or phototherapy in five PSONET registries., Results: Of 9922 biologic treatment cycles, 982 (9.9%) were identified as combination treatment. 72.9% of treatment cycles concerned concomitant use of methotrexate, 25.3% concerned concomitant UVB therapy, acitretin or cyclosporin and 1.8% concerned combined treatment with PUVA, fumaric acids or a second biologic. Substantial variation was detected in type and frequency of combination treatments prescribed across registries. Patients initiated on combined treatment had generally severe disease and were affected with psoriasis for many years. The extent to which patients had been priory treated with biologic monotherapy and the proportion of patients affected with psoriatic arthritis differed between registries. Survival rates for etanercept, adalimumab, infliximab and ustekinumab with methotrexate ranged between 43 and 92%, 28 and 83%, 65 and 87% and 53 and 77%, respectively, across registries after one year with no consistent superior survival for a particular biologic. Longest survival on a biologic combined with methotrexate, acitretin or cyclosporin was 103, 78 and 34 months, respectively., Conclusion: Methotrexate was the most commonly used concomitant treatment for patients on a biologic. Wide geographical variations in treatment selection and persistence of combination treatment exist. Data derived from ongoing studies may help to determine whether combined treatment is superior to biologic monotherapy., (© 2017 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.)

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease affecting 2-4 % of Central European population. Nowadays, we know that psoriasis is not limited to the skin but is connected with several comorbidities like, psoriatic arthritis (around 25 %), Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, Bechterev, non-alcoholic liver steatosis, psychiatric disorders and mainly diseases of the so called metabolic syndrome, like diabetes mellitus type 2, arterial hypertension or dyslipidemia. In the last years, new information is arising which connect psoriasis with sleep apnoe and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: BIOREP is a Czech registry of psoriatic patients on biological treatment in a clinical setting. We describe the characteristics of patients with psoriasis at the time of enrollment and present comparisons with published data from other national registries., Methods: We analyzed the cohort of patients treated with biologics between May 2005 and May 2015. Demographic data, previous therapies, comorbidities, and severity of psoriasis were compared with data from other registries - DERMBIO, BIOBADADERM, BADBIR, and PSOBEST., Results: A total of 1412 psoriatic patients initiating biological treatment were included with a predominance of males (63.4%). The mean patient age was 50.2 years, and approximately 70.5% of patients were either overweight or obese. The mean baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index was 19.8, and the Dermatology Life Quality Index was 16.6. More than one-third of patients (41.0%) reported a history of psoriatic arthritis, and a high proportion of patients (49.5%) with cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension [35.2%], hyperlipidemia [27.7%], diabetes mellitus [11.4%], coronary heart disease [4.9%], and obesity [15.2%]) were observed. Most of the patients had been previously treated with phototherapy (85.4%), acitretin (74.0%), methotrexate (65.7%), or cyclosporine (53.1%)., Conclusion: BIOREP is one of the first registries of patients with psoriasis treated with biologics in Central and Eastern Europe. Our results found a similar or higher prevalence of comorbidities, long disease duration, and high impact on the quality of life among patients included in Western European registries., (© 2017 The International Society of Dermatology.)

Psoriasis is a chronic systemic immune-mediated inflammatory dermatosis associated with several comorbidities. Psoriasis patients are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD), namely, coronary heart disease, stroke or peripheral vascular disease, and psoriasis seems to be an independent cardiovascular risk factor. Antipsoriatic systemic therapy, especially anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, seems to exert a beneficial effect on these comorbidities. The purpose of this study was: (i) to measure the level of cardiovascular serum markers in psoriasis patients in comparison with healthy volunteers; and (ii) to compare the serum level of the same markers in patients before and 3 months after adalimumab therapy. We investigated six biomarkers connected to CVD: C-reactive protein (measured high sensitively, hsCRP), oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL), oxLDL/β-glycoprotein I complex (oxLDL/β2GPI), vascular endothelial adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), E-selectin and interleukin (IL)-22. These biomarkers were measured in 21 patients with moderate/severe psoriasis before and after treatment with adalimumab and in healthy volunteers. hsCRP (P < 0.05), oxLDL-β2GPI complex (P < 0.05), E-selectin (P < 0.001) and IL-22 (P < 0.001) were significantly increased in comparison with healthy controls, whereas oxLDL and VCAM-1 were also higher in psoriasis patients but the difference did not reach statistical significance. A decrease of E-selectin (P < 0.001) and IL-22 (P < 0.001) was observed after 3 months of adalimumab therapy. Inhibition of TNF-α seems to not only improve psoriasis but also decreases serum cardiovascular biomarkers. E-selectin and IL-22 could serve for monitoring of the efficacy of antipsoriatic systemic therapy on cardiovascular risk., (© 2016 Japanese Dermatological Association.)

Patients with psoriasis are at increased risk of atherosclerosis, which is characterized by endothelial dysfunction associated with systemic inflammation. It appears that anti-tumor necrosis alpha treatment may reduce this risk. The purpose of this study was to measure serum marker levels associated with systemic inflammation in patients with psoriasis compared to healthy subjects and to further evaluate the change in their levels after 3 months and 2 years of treatment with adalimumab. We investigated four biomarkers: highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), oxidized low density lipoproteins (OxLDL), E-selectin and Interleukin 22 (IL-22). These markers were determined in healthy volunteers and in 28 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis before and after 3 and 24 months of adalimumab treatment. Patients with psoriasis had elevated markers levels compared to controls. After 3 months of treatment, E-selectin decreased significantly (p < 0.001), same as IL-22 (p < 0.001). HsCRP also decreased, but statistically insignificantly, OxLDLs were slightly higher than originally. After 24 months, 17 patients were still treated with adalimumab. In these patients, HsCRP (p < 0.05), E-selectin (p < 0.001) and IL-22 (p < 0.001) were significantly reduced. The OxLDL value remained elevated. A steady decrease in E-selectin, hsCRP and IL-22 after 24 months confirms that adalimumab suppresses systemic inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease afFecting about 2-4% of Central-European population. Treatment options include topical or systemic agents, often in combination. Conventional systemic therapies are represented by phototherapy (UVB, PUVA), methotrexate, cyclosporine and acitretin. The newest drugs are so-called biologics: drugs blocking tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) - adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, drugs blocking interleukin-12 and 23 (IL-12/23) - ustekinumab and newly also drugs blocking interleukin 17 - secukinumab. The aim of this paper is to present the long-term efficacy and safety of treatment of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis with adalimumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha. Retrospectively we analyzed 90 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis treated with adalimumab in the Center for biological therapy in Dermatovenereology clinic of the Faculty Hospital of Kralovske Vinohrady during the years 2008 and 2015. Although the average PASI of patients assigned to treatment was 22.5, the results shows a rapid onset of action of adalimumab, where PASI75 was observed in 85.6% of patients after 3 months of treatment. The efficacy sustained even in a long-term follow up, after two years PASI75 has been retained in 94.8% and PASI90 in 75.9% patients. After 48 months follow up a cohort of about 80% of patients is still on therapy. The safety profile of adalimumab in our group was very good, no patients have discontinued the treatment due to adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that significantly impairs quality of life in a similar way like other serious diseases (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cancer). The aim of this research was to determine the number of patients with psoriasis who are in out-patient care of dermatologists, their basic characteristics, and to evaluate the characteristics of topical therapy, compliance, financial effects of copayment and influence on the quality of life of patients. Methodology was chosen through a random selection of personal interviewing of doctors and patients across the country. The study included private dermatologists and patients with psoriasis on topical treatment. Totally 4 group discussion were held (12 physicians and 18 patients) concurrently with personal questionnaires (70 physicians and 142 patients). Totally 82 physicians and 160 patients participated in the period from May to June 2012. The results were in accordance with other European studies and confirms similar impact of psoriasis on quality of life. The study is so valuable in understanding the complexity of the disease and illuminates not only the relationship between psychological stress and the factors that lead to a deterioration in quality of life, but also helps to understand the importance of educational aid for quality of life with chronic disease. Last but not least, the study helped to assess the impact of socioeconomic status of patient on his treatment adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]