THERAPEUTICAL NOTES   

Esperienze Dermatologiche 2013 December;15(4):177-80

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Psoriasis and hidradenitis: personal experience with anti-TNF-α drugs

Todaro F., Angileri R. G., Cisarò N., Amato S.

Unità Operativa Complessa di Dermatologia, Ospedale Civico ARNAS, Palermo

The clinical manifestations of hidradenitis suppurativa were first described in 1839 by Velpeau; however, Aristide Auguste Stanislas Verneuil was the first to understand, in 1864, the cause of the disease that now has his name. The hidradenitis suppurativa, also known as acne inversa or follicular occlusion tetrad, is a disease of the apocrine glands, localized in the large body folds. In particular, it is caused by an occlusion of the infundibulum, a specific part of the follicle. At first, the disease appears with signs of erythema, with variable sizes, similar to small and painful papules or nodules, localized in body folds as: axillary cables, groin, submammary region and intergluteal sulcus. The disease affects more often women than men, and generally appears for the first time during or after puberty. The papules or nodules typical of the disease, tend to become fistulas, draining on the skin serum purulent material, that at last, heals as a anelastic tissue, similar to tough cord, depressed in the healthy skin. The cause of the disease, which could also be hereditary, is still not well known. Therapies used up to now are based on oral and topical antibiotics, antiandrogenes, retinoids, skin infiltration of corticosteroids and, eventually, surgical approach. We want describe our experience of three clinical cases, in patients affected by hidradenitis and medium-severe psoriasis treated with anti TNF-α.