Treatment of inflammatory dermatoses by tumour necrosis factor antagonists

Background  The treatment of inflammatory skin diseases is at present often empirical as causal therapeutic approaches, based on an incomplete knowledge of the immune pathogenesis, are mostly unavailable. The currently applied treatments can in fact lead to remission of the disease; however, under certain circumstances undesirable side‐effects must be expected. On the basis of experience gained in cytokine modulation therapy of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, the application of TNF‐α inhibitors represents a novel, more specific, and effective therapeutic option for distinct chronic inflammatory diseases.