April Wang Armstrong

• MD MPH
• Head of Faculty at University of Southern California

This randomized, prospective study (MATCH) was designed to assess the clinical utility of a machine learning-based tool (Mind.Px) that predicts patient response to the biologic drug classes used in the management of psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis who were biologic naïve or approaching a medication change owing to nonresponse were enrolled into...

Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, is approved in the USA and other countries for treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. In POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2, deucravacitinib was superior to placebo and apremilast and well tolerated in patients with plaque...

Introduction: Oral, targeted therapies for plaque psoriasis with long-term efficacy and safety are needed. Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, is approved in multiple countries for treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. Deucravacitinib was...

Introduction: AD is a chronic skin disease affecting multiple areas, including the head and neck (H&N) region, reported in 72% of patients with moderate-to-severe AD. H&ND, in particular, is associated with social embarrassment, stigmatization, and negative impact on patients’ QoL and mental health. Tralokinumab, a monoclonal antibody specifically...

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) can involve any part of the skin, including the genital region. Presentation of AD on genitals is often overlooked/underreported due to reluctance to discuss this sensitive area with clinicians and lack of routine examination of this region. To successfully treat all body regions with AD, increased awareness of...

Background Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, is approved in multiple countries for treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. Objectives To evaluate the safety and efficacy of deucravacitinib through 4 years in the Phase 3 POETYK PSO‐1, PSO...

Importance A critical need exists for developing a validated dermatologic-specific treatment satisfaction instrument. Objective To evaluate the structural validity, internal consistency, construct validity, and test-retest reliability of the 7-item dermatology-specific treatment satisfaction (DermSat-7) instrument in patients with psoriasis. Desi...

Introduction: Lebrikizumab, a novel, high-affinity monoclonal antibody selectively targeting interleukin-13, has demonstrated efficacy and safety in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis at higher doses than studied in asthma. Clinical trials of lebrikizumab in moderate-to-severe uncontrolled asthma have not demonstrated consistent exacerbation redu...

Obesity is a metabolic disease that is marked by excessive fat accumulation and is objectively defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2. Obesity is associated with several other comorbidities, including psoriasis, which is a chronic autoimmune skin disease. Adipocytes produce pro-inflammatory signaling molecules, namely adipokines and classic c...

Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, is approved in Japan for adult patients with plaque, generalized pustular, or erythrodermic psoriasis. POETYK PSO‐4 (NCT03924427), an open‐label, single‐arm, phase 3 trial, showed that deucravacitinib was effective and well tolerated in Japanese patients with plaque ( n =...

Background: International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the availability of evidence-based, consensus-driven outcome measures for dermatological diseases. IDEOM facilitates collaboration between stakeholders from various backgrounds, including researchers, patients, physicians, and in...

Background Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition requiring long-term care. However, many psoriasis patients may not regularly receive care. Several factors affect access to care in the United States, including health insurance status. Additionally, it is unknown how health insurance status impacts the healthcare-seeking behavior of ps...

Importance Safe and effective long-term treatments for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis are needed. Objective To evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of deucravacitinib through 3 years (week 148) in the randomized POETYK PSO-1, PSO-2, and nonrandomized long-term extension (LTE) trials. Design, Setting, and Participants PSO-1/PSO-2 were g...

Brodalumab is a human interleukin-17 receptor A antagonist indicated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy and have failed to respond or have lost response to other systemic therapies. In the USA, brodalumab has a boxed warning regarding suicidal ideation a...

Introduction: Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric TYK2 inhibitor, is approved in multiple countries for treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. Deucravacitinib was superior to placebo and apremilast in the global, 52-week, phase 3 POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2 parent trials in moder...

Background: Psoriatic patients often experience issues with lack of therapeutic efficacy and intolerance, which may result in high levels of treatment switching. This study examined real-world, 12-month switch rates and patient characteristics associated with treatment switching in patients with both PsO and PsA treated with risankizumab and other...

Introduction: Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, is approved in the US, EU, and other countries for treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. Deucravacitinib was efficacious and well-tolerated in the global, 52-week, phase 3 POETYK PSO-1 (NCT036241...

Expanding the systemic treatment options for patients with psoriasis, deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor is approved in the United States, European Union, China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and other countries for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic ther...

Despite advancements in the treatment of psoriasis (PsO), there are few head-to-head studies assessing comparative effectiveness of the newest therapies approved to treat PsO. Our objective was to assess the comparative clinical effectiveness of risankizumab and deucravacitinib in patients with moderate-to-severe PsO. This placebo-anchored matching...

Background: Contact dermatitis (CD) affects ∼15% of the general population over a lifetime. However, there is a lack of epidemiological studies on treatment patterns for CD. Objective: We aim to analyze the patient characteristics and prescribing patterns among dermatologists and general practitioners (GPs) (internal medicine [IM] and family medici...

(1) Background: The purpose of this study is to compare the rate of COVID-19 vaccination among psoriasis patients internationally and to correlate it with their treatment regimens. (2) Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from January 2021 to October 2022 among adults in the United States (US), Chile, China, Switzerland, and Singapore usin...

Importance Office-based phototherapy is cost-effective for psoriasis but difficult to access. Home-based phototherapy is patient preferred but has limited clinical data, particularly in patients with darker skin. Objective To compare the effectiveness of home- vs office-based narrowband UV-B phototherapy for psoriasis. Design, Setting, and Partic...

Factors such as obesity, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use are associated with both increased psoriasis severity and inadequate response to systemic and biologic therapies. Obesity is linked to chronic inflammation, which can contribute to psoriasis pathogenesis. Fixed-dose therapies may have reduced efficacy in patients with a higher body mass...

Despite the abundance of data concerning biologic treatments for patients with psoriasis, clinicians are often challenged with discerning the optimal treatment for each patient. To inform this selection, this study explored whether a patient’s baseline characteristics or disease profile could predict the likelihood of achieving complete skin cleara...

Background Oral antibiotics are a mainstay of treatment for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) primarily due to their anti‐inflammatory and anti‐microbial properties. Because antibiotics are frequently prescribed to treat HS, concerns exist regarding antibiotic stewardship. There is a paucity of literature comparing how antibiotic prescribing patterns f...

Treating plaque psoriasis (PsO) with guselkumab (GUS) promotes skin clearance and is associated with improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety, and depression. It is unclear whether improvements in patient-reported outcomes are due to resolution of skin symptoms or the direct result of GUS treatment. Two phase 3, placebo- and...

Importance New, effective, and well-tolerated oral therapies are needed for treating psoriasis. Zasocitinib, a highly selective allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, is a potential new oral treatment for this disease. Objective To assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of zasocitinib in patients with moderate to severe plaque psori...

Background Topical treatments are the foundation for patients with psoriasis; however, adherence can be limited by patient preferences and treatment burden. Methods The Harris Poll conducted an online survey of US patients with psoriasis who use prescription topical therapy to examine their preferences and perspectives on topical treatments. Resu...

Introduction: Telehealth is an emerging tool used to improve access to care for patients. However, there is a lack of literature comparing the use of telehealth between patients of different age groups in dermatology. Our study aims to determine whether differences exist in teledermatology usage between elderly and younger dermatology patients. Met...

Background: Plaque psoriasis is a chronic, relapsing systemic illness that has a significant effect on quality of life. Bimekizumab is the first monoclonal antibody to target both interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F, and recently received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Guidance is necessary regardi...

Efficacy of upadacitinib has been assessed in trials including Measure Up 1 (NCT03569293), Measure Up 2 (NCT03607422), and Heads Up (NCT03738397). Measure Up 1 and 2 assessed efficacy of upadacitinib 30 mg and upadacitinib 15 mg against placebo, while Heads Up assessed efficacy of upadacitinib 30 mg in a head-to-head trial against dupilumab 300 mg....

Deucravacitinib, a novel, oral, selective allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, demonstrated superiority versus placebo and apremilast in the POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2 studies. We describe patient-reported outcomes with deucravacitinib treatment versus placebo and apremilast in these studies. Two multicenter, global, double-blind, placebo- and activ...

Background: Risk for cardiovascular events is elevated in people with psoriatic disease. Our team developed a care coordination model to assist in managing cardiovascular risk in people with psoriatic disease. We piloted this model and study procedures prior to launching a fully powered prospective clinical trial. Objective: This study used qualita...

The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) 2023 annual meeting started with the trainee symposium. This symposium showcased the exceptional research activities of dermatology and rheumatology trainees in the field of psoriatic diseases (PsDs). The following report is a summary account of the 5 oral presentat...

The nonprofit organization International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) is committed to improving the implementation of patient-centered outcome measures in dermatologic disease. At a conference adjacent to the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) 2023 annual meeting, the IDEOM Psoriatic Disease Work...

During the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) 2023 annual meeting, the International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) psoriatic disease (PsD) workgroup presented an update on their efforts toward measurement of musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms in patients with PsD. Dr. Joseph Merola initiated the prese...

In this debate at the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) 2023 annual meeting, arguments were made contrasting the first-line use of oral targeted small-molecule drugs vs biologic therapy for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis (PsO) after failure of conventional therapy. Arguments in favor of s...

The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) 2023 annual meeting was held on July 13 to 15, 2023, in Dublin, Ireland, and was attended by 285 rheumatologists, dermatologists, trainees, patient research partners (PRPs), representatives of patient organizations, and industry partners. The 20th anniversary of GRA...

Aim: In the global phase 3 POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2 trials, significantly greater proportions of deucravacitinib-treated patients met the coprimary endpoints (PASI 75, sPGA 0/1) at Week 16 versus placebo or apremilast-treated patients. This analysis evaluated onset of action and maintenance of response in patients randomized to deucravacitinib and pl...

Deucravacitinib demonstrated superior efficacy to apremilast in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in the POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2 clinical trials. In the study reported here, we aimed to determine the overall 52-week cumulative clinical benefit of treatment initiated with deucravacitinib versus apremilast and to compare the 52-week cu...

Early prediction of abrocitinib efficacy in atopic dermatitis (AD) could help identify candidates for an early dose increase. A predictive model determined week 12 efficacy based on week 4 responses in patients receiving abrocitinib 100 mg/day and assessed the effect of an abrocitinib dose increase on platelet counts. Analysis included the phase 3...

A survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Arcutis Biotherapeutics in the USA to understand perspectives and burden of patients with psoriasis using prescription topical treatments for their disease. This manuscript presents results from the subset of patients with intertriginous psoriasis. The survey was conducted online October 21–Nov...

Oral isotretinoin remains a mainstay of treatment for severe, recalcitrant nodular acne. Novel formulations of isotretinoin have been developed over the past decade, including lidose isotretinoin and micronized isotretinoin. It is important to understand the differences between isotretinoin formulations to help guide clinical decision-making and se...

Skin involvement in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) worsens the severity and burden of disease. Ixekizumab (IXE), a selective interleukin (IL)-17A antagonist, was compared to placebo (PBO) in the SPIRIT-P1 (NCT01695239) and SPIRIT-P2 (NCT02349295) studies in patients with PsA and evidence of plaque psoriasis. This post hoc analysis reports...

Background Shared decision-making (SDM) refers to a collaborative process in which clinicians assist patients in making medically informed, evidence-based decisions that align with their values and preferences. There is a paucity of literature on SDM in dermatology. Objective We aim to assess whether male and female psoriasis patients evaluate the...

Brodalumab is a human interleukin-17 receptor A antagonist indicated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy and have failed to respond or have lost response to other systemic therapies. Although the US prescribing information for brodalumab includes a boxed...

The transmembrane glycoprotein OX40 receptor (OX40) and its ligand, OX40L, are instrumental modulators of the adaptive immune response in humans. OX40 functions as a costimulatory molecule that promotes T cell activation, differentiation, and survival through ligation with OX40L. T cells play an integral role in the pathogenesis of several inflamma...

Introduction: Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric TYK2 inhibitor, is approved in the US, EU, and other countries for treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. Deucravacitinib was efficacious and well-tolerated in the global, 52-week, phase 3 POETYK PSO-1 (NCT03624127) and PSO-2...

Introduction: Deucravacitinib (DEUC), an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, is approved in the US, EU, and other countries for treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO) who are candidates for systemic therapy. DEUC was superior to apremilast and placebo (PBO) in two phase 3 trials in patients with mode...

Introduction: Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric TYK2 inhibitor, is approved in the US, EU, and other countries for treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. Deucravacitinib was superior to placebo and apremilast in the POETYK PSO-1 (NCT03624127) and PSO-2 (NCT03611751) parent...

Introduction: In the phase 3 POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2 trials in psoriasis, patients completed the Psoriasis Symptoms and Signs Diary (PSSD) daily, recording the average severity of psoriasis symptoms and signs, including itch, over the past 24 hours. Patients receiving deucravacitinib experienced greater improvement in PSSD scores than patients recei...

Quality of life impairment in dermatology patients and severity of psoriasis are quantified by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), respectively. The aim of this study is to compare the correlation between PASI and DLQI in patients from different geographical areas and to identify predictors of...

Background Two phase 3 trials, POETYK PSO‐1 and PSO‐2, previously established the efficacy and overall safety of deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, in plaque psoriasis. Objectives To further assess the safety of deucravacitinib over 52 weeks in the pooled population from these two trials. Methods P...

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a painful, chronic inflammatory skin disease that negatively affects patient quality of life, and conventional treatments are variably effective. As a result, patients often turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for pain relief. Social media enables HS patients to share treatment recommen...

BACKGROUND Surgeons' opinions vary on the cosmetic outcome of straight-line (SL) versus broken-line (W-plasty) closure methods. To date, no studies have compared the 2 techniques in the split-scar design model that resolves the confounding individual patient factors that affects the scar outcome. OBJECTIVE Compare outcomes and wound cosmesis with...

Introduction Network meta-analysis (NMA) provides useful information for medical decision makers via comprehensive indirect comparisons across therapies. As the targeted systemic therapy options for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) continue to grow, it is critical to update NMAs as well. Objectives To assess the comparative efficacy of ta...

Introduction/Background Tralokinumab is a fully human, high-affinity, monoclonal antibody that specifically neutralizes interleukin-13, a key driver of atopic dermatitis (AD) pathogenesis. Numerous clinical studies have established that tralokinumab is an efficacious treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe AD, along with having a favorable s...

Introduction/Background Efficacy of upadacitinib has been assessed in trials including Measure Up 1 (NCT03569293), Measure Up 2 (NCT03607422), and Heads Up (NCT03738397). Measure Up 1 and Measure Up 2 assessed efficacy of upadacitinib 30mg and upadacitinib 15mg against placebo, while Heads Up assessed efficacy of upadacitinib 30mg in a head-to-head...

Introduction/Background Tralokinumab is a high-affinity, fully human IgG4 monoclonal antibody that specifically targets interleukin-13, a key driver of atopic dermatitis (AD) disease progression. Clinical trials have shown that tralokinumab is efficacious in patients with moderate-to-severe AD and has a favorable safety profile, including a low fre...

Introduction: With more than two billion downloads since its launch, TikTok is the fastest-growing video-sharing platform in the world. Many people turn to TikTok for dermatologic medical information. However, there is limited data about psoriasis and psoriasis treatment content on this social media platform. Objective: To compare the viewer eng...

Importance Multiple patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for health-related quality of life (HRQL) exist for patients with psoriasis. Evidence for the content validity and other measurement properties of these PROMs is critical to determine which HRQL PROMs could be recommended for use. Objective To systematically review the validity of HRQL-...

Introduction: Patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis have a higher risk of cardiometabolic comorbidities than the general population.1,2 Here, response to bimekizumab (BKZ) in psoriasis patients with hypertension, elevated body mass index (BMI), or hyperglycemia at baseline is reported through 3 years of treatment. Procedure/study: Data...

Importance Change from baseline score on the validated Psoriasis Symptoms and Signs Diary (PSSD) is a widely used, patient-reported end point in clinical trials for psoriasis. Meaningful score change thresholds anchored to patient-reported assessments have not been established in a clinical trial setting. Objective To evaluate meaningful within-pa...

Background This is the first report on the effects of abrocitinib, a Janus kinase 1–selective inhibitor, on the expression of skin biomarkers in patients with moderate‐to‐severe atopic dermatitis (AD). Methods JADE MOA (NCT03915496) was a double‐blind Phase 2a trial. Adults were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to receive monotherapy with once‐daily abroci...

Background: The International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of evidence-based, consensus-driven outcome measures in dermatological diseases. Researchers and stakeholders from various backgrounds collaborate to develop these objective benchmark metrics to further advance treatment and...