Itolizumab in the Management of Psoriasis with Metabolic Syndrome

Psoriasis is a chronic, relapsing, inflammatory disease that has been associated with Metabolic Syndrome (MS), a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors mainly hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia. A 49-year-old male patient presented with extensive plaque psoriasis from past 13 years. Past medications included methotrexate, PUVA therapy, topical immunosuppressants and corticosteroids. His baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score was 39.8. The patient was screened and diagnosed with MS as per Alberti's Criteria (his waist circumference was 100 cm, blood pressure was 160/100 mmHg and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) was 30 mg/dl). Considering severity of the disease, in this case we used anti-CD6 humanized monoclonal antibody Itolizumab (1.6 mg/kg body weight) to treat psoriasis and concurrent MS. The patient achieved PASI 50 response in six months after treatment of 10 infusions of Itolizumab (First seven doses were given every fortnightly and the last three doses every month). Further, Itolizumab treatment was continued once every three months and PASI 75 response was achieved at the end of 15 months. His PASI score increased to 30.7 after 18 months. Contemplating link between psoriasis and MS due to possibility of overlapping inflammatory pathways, we instructed patient to reduce his weight and prescribed oral tablet metformin 500 mg twice a day. After losing 6 kg weight, his PASI score came down to 22.2 at the end of 21^st month. This suggests that MS was a driving factor in worsening of his psoriasis. Psoriatic patients should be checked simultaneously for co-morbid disease conditions. The report indicates direct association of psoriasis and MS.