Good news just came out for those who are taking Humira (well for at least psoriasis anyways). In thisnews report it appears that treating psoriasis with drugs that inhibit TNF (tumor necrosis factor) could possibly reduce the risk of myocardial incident when compared to other possible treatments. The way I understand psoriasis is that it is an autoimmune disease like Crohn’s however leaves people with patchy and itchy red marks all over their body which doesn’t seem very pleasant.
In the study Dr. Jashin Wu looked at treatment information and new diagnosis for 9,000 people with psoriasis. In the study which looked at people over 4 years after treatment there were 3.05 myocardial incidents per 1,000 patient years as compared to 3.85 myocardial incidents per 1,000 patients years. This was also lower than the 6.73 rate for patients who took topical drugs. TNF inhibitors may have a 21% lower myocardial risk when compared to other drugs. TNF drugs are drugs like Remicade, Enbrel, and Humira. Hopefully in the future we will have more of these types of drugs to increase competition.
The question of the hour however would be does this study translate into meaning a lower chance of myocardial incidents for Crohn’s patients? My guess is maybe but since Crohn’s is a gastrointestinal disorder maybe not. What probably should be studied is how anti TNF drugs like Humira, Remidade, and Enbrel lower the chances of having a myocardial incident.