The efficacy of apremilast on scalp, palmoplantar, and nail psoriasis in moderate psoriatic bio-naive patients after 6 weeks of treatment was assessed. Interim data for the first 100 patients [mean age at baseline (i.e. at apremilast onset): 49.9 years; mean age at diagnosis: 40.3 years; 71.0% male; 41.0% obese; mean Psoriasis Area Severity Index: 12.8; 66.0% previously treated with conventional systemic treatments] are presented, using last-observation-carried-forward imputation. At baseline, 77.6% (76/98), 29.6% (29/98), and 62.5% (60/96) of the patients, had Scalp Physician’s Global Assessment (ScPGA), Palmoplantar Psoriasis PGA (PPPGA), and Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI) scores >0, respectively. At 6 weeks, the ScPGA and PPPGA improvement rates (i.e. score of 0-1 if baseline score ≥3, or score of 0 if baseline score 1-2), were 13.2% (10/76) and 20.7% (6/29), respectively. The median [interquartile range (IQR)] baseline overall NAPSI score [40.0 (20.0-70.0)] decreased by 9.0 points (p<0.001). Apremilast demonstrates early beneficial effects on psoriasis-affected difficult-to-treat areas.

Scalp, palmoplantar, and nail involvement in moderate bio-naive psoriasis patients treated with apremilast: 6-week interim results of a real-world, multicenter, prospective study in Greece