BACKGROUND: @entity1499 and @entity205 are well-known systemic therapies for moderate-to-severe chronic @entity1569 . We conducted a randomized, controlled trial comparing @entity1499 and @entity205 in terms of effectiveness, side effects, and the quality of life. METHODS: A total of 88 @entity1 with moderate-to-severe @entity1569 were randomly assigned to treatment for 16 weeks with either @entity1499 (44 @entity1 ; initial dose, 15 mg per week) or @entity205 (44 @entity1 ; initial dose, 3 mg per kilogram of body weight per day) and were followed for another 36 weeks. The primary outcome was the difference between groups in the @entity1569 area-and-severity index after 16 weeks of treatment, after adjustment for base-line values; scores were determined in a blinded fashion by trained observers. RESULTS: Two @entity1 were excluded from the analysis after randomization because they were found to be ineligible, and one @entity1 withdrew his consent. Twelve @entity1 in the @entity1499 group had to discontinue treatment because of reversible elevations in liver-enzyme levels, and 1 @entity1 in the @entity205 group had to do so because of an elevation in the @entity648 level, but all 13 were included in the analysis. After 16 weeks of treatment, the mean (+/-SE) score for the @entity1569 area-and-severity index decreased from 13.4+/-3.6 at base line to 5.0+/-0.7 among 43 @entity1 treated with @entity1499 , whereas the score decreased from 14.0+/-6.6 to 3.8+/-0.5 among 42 @entity1 treated with @entity205 . After adjustment for base-line values, the mean absolute difference in values at 16 weeks was 1.3 (95 percent confidence interval, -0.2 to 2.8; P=0.09). The physician's global assessment of the extent of @entity1569 , the time to and the rates of remission, and the quality of life were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: No significant differences in efficacy were found between @entity1499 and @entity205 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe @entity1569 .

XXXX versus @entity205 in moderate-to-severe chronic @entity1569 .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity1569 :: ('MESH:D011565', 'Disease') :: ['psoriasis', 'plaque psoriasis'] @entity648 :: ('MESH:D001663', 'Chemical') :: ['bilirubin'] @entity205 :: ('MESH:D016572', 'Chemical') :: ['cyclosporine'] @entity1499 :: ('MESH:D008727', 'Chemical') :: ['Methotrexate', 'methotrexate']
@entity1499 :: (MESH:D008727,Chemical) :: ['Methotrexate']
