What to know about etanercept (Enbrel)

Etanercept is a medication that helps treat a range of autoimmune diseases. These diseases cause the immune system to overreact to a particular type of tissue or cell.

Such diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriasis.

Etanercept is the generic name of the medication, while its trade name is Enbrel. The drug is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor, which means that it interferes with TNF.

TNF, which the immune system produces, encourages an inflammatory response that the body needs to fight disease and infection.

However, this inflammatory response also causes many of the clinical problems that occur in people with autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases lead to an excess of TNF circulating the body.

In this article, we look at the function, uses, and risks of etanercept.

Function

TNF works by transporting white blood cells to areas of inflammation. By doing this, TNF can make inflammation worse.

Etanercept prevents the action of TNF, thereby reducing the severity of an inflammatory response.

During an inflammatory response to an infection or disease, the body releases various substances and chemicals that allow it to fight infections and other harmful cells. In people with autoimmune conditions, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue.

Stopping an inflammatory response is useful when treating autoimmune diseases.

What conditions does etanercept treat?

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved etanercept as a safe and effective treatment for several different conditions. These include:

Ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic, painful, and progressive inflammatory disease, which affects the joints and ligaments that usually allow movement and flexion in the back.

Occurring in approximately 0.2–0.5 percent of people in the U.S., this disease mostly affects the lower back, but it can also attack joints and ligaments in the upper spine, chest, and neck.

Plaque psoriasis

Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disease.

In people with psoriasis, the skin cells grow more rapidly than usual. It is a chronic, or long-term, condition, of which plaque psoriasis is the most common type.

People with plaque psoriasis have raised areas of inflamed skin with a covering of silvery-white, scaly skin called plaque. A flaky, white buildup of dead skin cells, or scale, collects on the plaques. Plaque psoriasis can appear on the surface of the skin on any part of the body.

Etanercept can be beneficial for people with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis is a long-term condition. It is a form of inflammatory arthritis that affects between 10 and 20 percent of people who have psoriasis.

Most individuals with psoriatic arthritis first develop psoriasis before receiving a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis later on.

Symptoms include inflammation of the skin and joints. The condition can present at any age, but symptoms usually arise between the ages of 30 and 50 years.

 Source: Medical News Today