Real-World Efficacy and Safety of Ixekizumab in the Treatment of Psoriasis: A Case-Series from Indian Sub-Continent

Psoriasis is a chronic, debilitating disease of inflammatory dermatoses. IL-17 plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. It acts as a driving force in psoriasis and has a significant role in keratinocyte proliferation, plaque progression, neutrophil recruitment, forming an amplification loop, and formation of tissue-resident memory T helper cells causing relapse. Ixekizumab is a humanized IgG4 monoclonal anti-IL-17 antibody approved for psoriasis in 2016. We are reporting a series of 22 patients presented with moderate to severe psoriasis treated with ixekizumab. 31.8% of patients had pre-existing comorbidities like Hypertension, diabetes, or hypertriglyceridemia. After 14 weeks of treatment, the Mean ± SD PASI improved from 30.82 ± 7.06 to 2.82 ± 3.12. At the end of treatment (14 th week), PASI75, PASI 90, and PASI 100 were achieved by 95.45%, 68.18%, and 27.27% of patients, respectively. Friedman’s ANOVA shows a significant decrease ( P < 0.05) in PASI, BSA, and sPGA scores starting from the 1 st follow-up (2 weeks) onwards. Paired t -test shows a significant decrease in PAsI, BSA, and sPGA reduction, P < 0.0001 between baseline and 7 th follow-up visit (14 weeks). No significant side effects were noted in this period. The present study illustrates the experience with ixekizumab in real-world clinical practice, confirming its effectiveness and safety in the management of plaque psoriasis patients.