Introduction Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is approved as oral systemic treatment for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Scarce evidence is available for DMF treatment in psoriatic patients at the time of COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of DMF monotherapy in moderate-to-severe psoriasis during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Methods This multicenter, retrospective study included patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who had received a 48-week DMF treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Selected outcomes were: variation of mean PASI, proportion of patients achieving PASI50 and PASI75, variation of mean PGA and face PGA, genital PGA, scalp PGA, mean itch VAS and mean DLQI. Results Forty-four patients were enrolled, and four patients became COVID-19 positive during the observation period but did not discontinue DMF therapy. DMF produced a significant improvement of signs and symptoms of psoriasis as expressed by mean PASI variation from 13.07 at baseline to 6.11 at week 48 ( p < 0.0001), itch VAS from 3.22 at baseline to 1.18 at week 48 ( p < 0.001), PGA from 2.84 at baseline to 1.30 at week 48 ( p < 0.0001) and DLQI from 13.09 at baseline to 6.07 at week 48 ( p < 0.0001). The percentage of patients who achieved PASI50 and PASI75 was 4.55% at week 4 and 59.09% at week 48 and 0% at week 4 and 22.73% at week 48, respectively. A clinical important decrease of mean PGA score was observed in all subgroups, face psoriasis, genital psoriasis and scalp psoriasis. Adverse events were predictable and manageable. Conclusions DMF monotherapy is an effective and safe treatment option in moderate-to-severe psoriasis also in patients who develop SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Genital psoriasis (GenPs) has been traditionally considered a difficult to treat psoriasis area. Ixekizumab was the first biologic agent demonstrating efficacy and safety in a formal clinical trial on GenPs; however, real-life experiences are limited. To assess real-life effectiveness and safety of ixekizumab in the treatment of GenPs in a case series of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis involving the genital area received subcutaneous ixekizumab. Evaluation of disease severity, clinical symptoms, and quality of life was performed at baseline, after 4, 16, and 24 weeks of treatment. Assessment tools were: Static Physician's Global Assessment of Genitalia (sPGA-G), Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score, Itch Numerical-Rating-Score (Itch-NRS), and Dermatology-Life-Quality-Index (DLQI). Adverse events were recorded. A total of 14 patients were treated with ixekizumab achieving consistent and significant reduction of disease and quality of life parameters, with a mean percentage reduction from baseline to week 24 of 91.4% for sPGA-G, 95.2% for PASI, 95.6% for Itch-NRS, and 93.7% for DLQI. Ixekizumab treatment was well tolerated. Ixekizumab significantly improved disease severity, itch, and quality of life with an acceptable safety profile in a real-life setting in adult patients affected by GenPs.

Dear editor,Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease characterized by an IL23/ IL17-oriented immune activation and keratinocyte hyperproliferation and can be observed in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected persons. There is not full agreement on the prevalence of HIVassociated psoriasis that may result similar to the general population. 1 Psoriasis might worsen or be firstly detected when HIV infection is diagnosed, further affecting the quality of life of HIV patients. Furthermore, the progression of HIV seems to correlate with worsening of psoriasis. 2 The management of these patients is a challenge as any therapy must be carefully considered. Immunosuppressive drugs as methotrexate and cyclosporine should be avoided due to the risk of opportunistic infections, while TNF-alpha blockers and ustekinumab

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