- Monday, February 21, 2022
- IPC GENERAL
- Congress Reports
The 9th Psoriasis: from Gene to Clinic International Congress was held from December 9th-11th, 2021, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, United Kingdom. The conference was co-chaired by IPC Past President Dr. Jonathan Barker and IPC Honorary Founder Dr. Christopher Griffiths and included a scientific committee of many other distinguished IPC Board Members and IPC Councilors. This international congress is held every three years and provides a forum for psoriasis experts from around the world to present and discuss cutting-edge issues. You can download the full report. or read on for a brief look at some of the highlights.
COVID-19
- Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients receiving immunomodulators for immune-mediated inflammatory disease, presented by Dr. Ali Al-Janabi, summarized data regarding the use and efficacy of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases who use immunomodulatory therapies.
- IPC Councilor Dr. Satveer Mahil presented two studies titled The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with psoriasis: An update from the PsoProtect and PsoProtectMe global registries and The impact of methotrexate and targeted immunosuppression on humoral and cellular immunogenicity of the COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 in people with psoriasis: A prospective longitudinal cohort study. Her lectures focused on the reported outcomes on psoriasis during the pandemic from physicians and patients and the efficacy of the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine in psoriasis patients taking immunosuppressant and biologic medications.
THERAPEUTICS
- Spesolimab alters the molecular profile of lesional skin in patients with generalized pustular psoriasis with a clinical response, presented by Dr. Ahmed Farag, discussed the exciting results from the phase 2 placebo-controlled Effisayil-1 study, which shows promising results in both clinical and genetic profiles in treating generalized pustular psoriasis with a humanized anti-IL-36R monoclonal antibody, spesolimab.
- Dr. Juul van den Reek presented a lecture titled Serum drug levels and anti-drug antibodies in the context of dose tapering by interval prolongation of adalimumab, etanercept, and ustekinumab in psoriasis patients: Results of the randomized controlled CONDOR trial, which examined the efficacy of dose reduction in clinical response and regarding the formation of anti-drug antibodies.
- In the lecture Drug survival of guselkumab, ixekizumab, secukinumab, ustekinumab, and adalimumab for psoriasis: A prospective cohort study from the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register (BADBIR), Dr. Zenas Yiu presented data of drug survival for both efficacy and adverse effects for many commonly prescribed biologic medications.
GENERAL
- Dr. Charlie Bridgewood presented a lecture titled IL-4/IL-13 blockade is associated with psoriatic disease-evidence from the clinic and in vitro, which examined the evidence of psoriatic disease after initiation of IL-4/IL-3 blockade therapy with dupilumab.
- International GWAS meta-analysis identifies 49 new psoriasis-associated genetic loci was presented by Dr. Nick Dand on behalf of the International Psoriasis GWAS Consortium. He discussed recent GWAS meta-analyses data which has revealed novel protein-altering genom variants, some of which appear highly relevant to psoriasis pathogenesis.
- The systemic immune-inflammation index is a calculation used to measure systemic inflammation. In a lecture titled Systemic immune-inflammation index as a predictor of systemic inflammatory burden and cardiovascular comorbidities in psoriasis, Dr. Niamh Kearney explained the potential role of the SII index in psoriasis and its comorbidities.
- IPC Councilor Jörg Prinz, MD, presented The pathogenic psoriatic autoimmune response against melanocytes is endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) dependent. In this lecture, he discussed the epistasis between ERAP1 and HLA-C*06:02 and the autoimmune pathogenesis driven by autoantigen presentation.
- Characterization of the gut microbiota in patients with psoriasis, presented by Dr. Tanja Todberg, detailed the emerging role of the gut microbiota in psoriasis by comparing patients to their cohabitants and healthy controls.
- Dr. Alex Trafford presented Psoriasis and the risk of cancer development: Pooled population-based cohort studies from Denmark, England, Israel, and Taiwan. In the lecture, he discussed the increased hazard ratios of multiple different malignancies seen in patients with psoriasis.
- Dr. Teresa Tsakok discussed her group’s findingsof specific residues in the HLA-DR peptide-binding groove, which confer protection against drug antibodies, in the lecture Development of anti-drug antibodies to adalimumab is associated with amino acid variation within the HLA-DRB1 peptide-binding groove.
INVITED SPEAKERS
- In The epidemiology of psoriasis and the Global Psoriasis Atlas, IPC Councilor Dr. Darren Ashcroft outlined the role of the GPA to expand studies and outreach efforts across multiple countries, to better serve the psoriasis-specific needs of the international community.
- IPC Councilor Dr. Curdin Conrad presented Paradoxical reactions to biologics: Mechanisms, features, and management, which focused on the homeostasis system occurring between both TNF and Type-1 IFN and the Th2 and Th17 axes.
- The Role of IL-36 in psoriasis was presented by IPC Board Member Dr. Johann Gudjonsson. In the lecture, he summarized the emerging role of IL-36 in both plaque and pustular psoriasis by focusing on recent advances in basic science and clinical data.
- IPC Board Member Lars Iversen presented the lecture Early intervention: Rationale, strategies, and measuring outcome, in which he discussed the important role of Tissue resident memory cells (Trms) in psoriasis disease memory.
- Innovation in clinical trials to transform practice was an engaging lecture presented by statistician and epidemiologist Max Parmar. He demonstrated the need for trial reform to improve efficiency and efficacy by providing data from other medical specialties.
- Dr. Wingfield Rhemus presented Addressing global unequal access to care, which focused on the barriers to effective psoriasis care, including geography, availability, affordability, and acceptability.
- Driving discovery in psoriasis with human genetics was presented by Dr. Michael Simpson. In this lecture, he explained how large-scale collaborative research has transformed our understanding of psoriasis genetics and how it can shape future management.
- IPC Councilor Dr. Nicole Ward presented a lecture on Animal models for psoriasis. In it, she highlighted the expansive and increasing role of mouse models to improve our understanding of psoriasis and discussed her group’s upcoming comprehensive review of the models aimed to enhance future studies.
KEYNOTE LECTURES
- Dr. Fiona Powrie gave the lecture titled Host microbe interactions in the intestine: New therapeutic strategies for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases. The lecture focused on the overlapping inflammatory pathways between inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis and the utility of studying the microbiome to further understand psoriasis pathophysiology.
- Improving human health through science was a lecture presented by Dr. Fiona Watt. She discussed the interface between basic and clinical skin research in the bench-to-bedside model and the vital role of multifaceted funding to continue supporting investigators.
For a more in-depth summary of these lectures, please download the full report.
