The Dynamics of Blood-Count-Derived Inflammatory Indices in the Course of Systemic Treatment for Psoriasis: A Single Center Study

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects up to 3% of the global population. In recent years, monoclonal antibodies targeting key cytokines underlying skin lesions and joint involvement in the course of psoriasis, i.e., TNF-α, IL-17, and IL-23, have been increasingly used due to their high effectiveness and favorable safety profile. Numerous studies have been conducted analyzing the influence of cytokine inhibitors on non-specific inflammatory markers. However, only a limited number of studies on the effect of methotrexate (MTX) therapy on blood-count-derived inflammatory indices in patients with plaque psoriasis have been published so far. The study aims to analyze and compare the impact of methotrexate and biological drugs on the dynamics of selected blood-count-derived inflammatory indices in psoriatic patients. The analysis involved 182 patients receiving biological therapy, which resulted in a total of 219 treatment cycles (TCs) and 48 patients treated with therapeutic doses of MTX (48 TCs). In the biological subgroup, there were six TCs with an inhibitor of IL-12/23, 58 TCs with IL-17A inhibitors, 22 TCs with an inhibitor of IL-17AF, 113 TCs with IL-23 inhibitors, and 20 TCs with TNF-alfa inhibitors. A comparison between patients receiving biological treatment regardless of the drug and patients receiving MTX was conducted. Themajor factors determining the duration of MTX therapy were older age at the time of therapy initiation, a later onset of psoriasis, and a higher burden of comorbidities. Furthermore, the strongest impact on the average inflammatory state over time in patients treated with methotrexate was associated with comorbidities, male gender, and older age. Contrary to MTX therapy, patients receiving biological drugs were characterized by lower values of most assessed blood-count-derived inflammatory biomarkers at week 40 compared to baseline. It was confirmed that biologics and MTX treatment modify the dynamics of blood-count-derived inflammatory biomarkers in a different manner.