Cutaneous adverse events of biological therapy for psoriasis: review of the literature.

The use of biological agents is expanding worldwide as a new treatment alternative for chronic inflammatory diseases including more recently skin diseases, especially psoriasis. Although frequently observed, the knowledge about acute and chronic dermatological adverse events is limited, and potential pathogenic mechanisms still have to be identified. Exact diagnosis is required considering that dermatological adverse events raise a decisional challenge about potential treatment discontinuation. The object of this publication is to present an overview of the dermatological adverse events of these new treatment alternatives. Copyright 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.