Patient with HIV and Hepatitis C Treated for Psoriatic Arthritis with Anti-TNF-a

Official article title: Effective etanercept treatment for psoriatic arthritis complicating concomitant human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus infection.

High levels of tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) are associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and all stages of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. TNF-a may have a role in both the pathogenesis and the response to treatment of these chronic viral diseases. From the Rheumatology Department, Sismanoglio Hospital, and Second Blood Transfusion and Hemophilia Center, Laiko General Hospital, Athens, Greece, researchers described a 42-year-old HIV/HCV coinfected haemophiliac man who developed psoriasis and severe psoriatic arthritis not responding to combination treatment with methotrexate and cyclosporin A. The patient was treated with etanercept 25 mg twice weekly, which was followed by remission of the joint inflammation and improvement of the exanthem. This was the first report of anti-TNF-a treatment for rheumatic complications in a patient with both HIV and HCV infection.(Source: Linardaki G, Katsarou O, Ioannidou P, Karafoulidou A, Boki K. Journal of Rheumatology. 2007 Jun;34(6):1353-5. : June 2007)