Alessandra Narcisi

Dr. Alessandra Narcisi


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

8Years (2019-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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8 August 2023 in Frontiers in Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
LGLuigi Gargiulo
Luigi Gargiulo
Alessandra NarcisiAlessandra Narcisi
Alessandra Narcisi
LILuciano Ibba
Luciano Ibba
ABAnna Balato
Anna Balato
LBLuca Bianchi
Luca Bianchi
ACAntonio Costanzo
Antonio Costanzo
Introduction: Bimekizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets Interleukin-17 A and F, approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. While bimekizumab has been evaluated in several phase-III clinical trials, real-world evidence is still very limited.Method: This multicenter retrospective study included patients affected by plaque psoriasis treated with bimekizumab from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023, at 19 Italian referral hospitals. Patients affected by moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis eligible for systemic treatments were included. The effectiveness of bimekizumab was evaluated in terms of reduction in psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) compared with baseline at weeks 4 and 16. The main outcomes were the percentages of patients achieving an improvement of at least 75% (PASI75), 90% (PASI90) and 100% (PASI100) in PASI score.Results: The study included 237 patients who received at least one injection of bimekizumab. One hundred and seventy-one patients and 114 reached four and 16 weeks of follow-up, respectively. Complete skin clearance was achieved by 43.3% and 75.4% of patients at weeks 4 and 16, respectively. At week 16, 86.8% of patients reported no impact on their quality of life. At week 16, there were no significant differences between bio-naïve and bio-experienced patients in terms of PASI75, PASI90 and PASI100. The most commonly reported adverse events (AEs) were oral candidiasis (10.1%). No severe AEs or AEs leading to discontinuation were observed throughout the study.Conclusion: Our experience supports the effectiveness and tolerability of bimekizumab in a real-world setting with similar results compared with phase-III clinical trials.

3 July 2023 in Frontiers in Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
Luigi GargiuloLuigi Gargiulo
Luigi Gargiulo
LILuciano Ibba
Luciano Ibba
PMPiergiorgio Malagoli
Piergiorgio Malagoli
FAFabrizio Amoruso
Fabrizio Amoruso
GAGiuseppe Argenziano
Giuseppe Argenziano
Alessandra NarcisiAlessandra Narcisi
Alessandra Narcisi
Introduction: Brodalumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets the subunit A of the interleukin-17A receptor (IL17RA), inhibiting the signaling of various isoforms of the IL-17 family. It has been approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis after being evaluated in three Phase-3 trials. However, long-term data on brodalumab in a real-life setting are still limited.Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety of brodalumab in psoriasis. We also assessed the drug survival of brodalumab in a 3 years timespan. We conducted a retrospective multicenter study on 606 patients followed up at 14 Italian dermatology units, all treated with brodalumab according to Italian guidelines. Patients’ demographics and disease characteristics were retrieved from electronic databases. At baseline and weeks 12, 24, 52, 104 and 156, we evaluated the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score and investigated for adverse events. The proportions of patients reaching 75, 90 and 100% (PASI 75, PASI 90 and PASI 100, respectively) improvement in PASI, compared with baseline, were also recorded.Results: At week 12, 63.53% of the patients reached PASI 90 and 49.17% PASI 100. After 3 years of treatment, 65.22% of patients maintained a complete skin clearance, and 91.30% had an absolute PASI of 2 or less. Patients naïve to biological therapies had better clinical responses at weeks 12, 24 and 52. However, after 2 years of treatment, no significant differences were observed. Body mass index did not interfere with the effectiveness of brodalumab throughout the study. No new safety findings were recorded. After 36 months, 85.64% of our patients were still on treatment with brodalumab.Conclusion: Our data confirm the effectiveness and the safety of brodalumab in the largest real-life cohort to date, up to 156 weeks.

16 January 2024 in Journal of Clinical Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Luigi GargiuloLuigi Gargiulo
Luigi Gargiulo
Luciano IbbaLuciano Ibba
Luciano Ibba
PMPiergiorgio Malagoli
Piergiorgio Malagoli
FAFabrizio Amoruso
Fabrizio Amoruso
Giuseppe ArgenzianoGiuseppe Argenziano
Giuseppe Argenziano
Alessandra NarcisiAlessandra Narcisi
Alessandra Narcisi
Background: Risankizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that selectively inhibits interleukin-23. It has been approved for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and has shown efficacy and safety in clinical trials and real-world experiences. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness, safety, and drug survival of risankizumab in a real-life setting. Materials and Methods: We included patients treated with risankizumab from January 2019 to February 2023. A Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (PASI) was collected at weeks 0, 16, 28, 52, 104, and 156, when available. The occurrence of any adverse events was recorded at each visit. Results: We enrolled 1047 patients. At week 52, a ≥90% improvement in PASI was observed in 81.44% of patients, with a continuous improvement throughout the study (88.99% and 99.07% at weeks 104 and 156, respectively). After three years of treatment, all patients involving the scalp, palms/soles, and genitalia and 95% of patients with nail psoriasis achieved a complete or almost complete skin clearance. No significant safety findings were observed, and 90.73% of the patients were still on treatment after 36 months. Conclusions: This study supports the long-term effectiveness and safety of risankizumab in a real-world setting, even in patients involving difficult-to-treat areas.

10 October 2025 in Dermatology and Therapy
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
GAGianluca Avallone
Gianluca Avallone
ABAndrea Bombelli
Andrea Bombelli
Luigi GargiuloLuigi Gargiulo
Luigi Gargiulo
CFCATERINA FOTI
CATERINA FOTI
ITIlaria Trave
Ilaria Trave
Silvia Mariel FerrucciSilvia Mariel Ferrucci
Silvia Mariel Ferrucci
Introduction Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that significantly affects the quality of life (QoL). Lebrikizumab, a biologic drug targeting interleukin-13, demonstrated efficacy and safety in clinical trials. However, real-world data remain limited, largely restricted to Asian populations. Methods This 16-week retrospective multicenter study included 78 adults from a predominantly white cohort with moderate-to-severe AD treated with lebrikizumab throughout 2024. Patients were both naïve and experienced with biologics or Janus kinase inhibitors (bio/JAKi-naïve or -experienced). The primary outcome for disease severity and therapeutic response was measured using the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI). Secondary outcomes included the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), itch- and sleep-numerical rating scales (NRS), body surface area (BSA), Investigator Global Assessment (IGA), SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), and Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM). Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool (ADCT) and minimal disease activity (MDA) were used to estimate disease control, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales to monitor mental health status. Results At week 16, benefits in disease severity were observed for EASI (− 15.8 ± 9.4, p < 0.0001) and EASI head and neck (− 2.0 ± 1.7, p < 0.0001). QoL significantly improved in 70% of patients (DLQI reduction of − 12.6 ± 9.3, p < 0.0001), accompanied by decreased pruritus (Itch-NRS reduction of − 4.6 ± 3.2, p < 0.0001) and better sleep quality (sleep-NRS reduction of − 4.1 ± 3.4, p < 0.0001). A 76% reduction in BSA score was recorded, 85% of subjects improved their IGA index, with 62% achieving a score of 0–1, and SCORAD and POEM assessments significantly improved (p < 0.0001). Patients perceived a better control of the disease (ADCT, − 10.9 ± 7.1, p < 0.0001), and 14% of patients achieved MDA. Anxiety and depression levels decreased. Four mild adverse events were registered. Conclusions This is one of the first real-world multicenter studies in a predominantly adult white population showing that lebrikizumab is effective, safe and improves symptoms, QoL, and mental health in moderate-to-severe AD bio/JAKi-naïve and -experienced patients.

18 January 2024 in Journal of Clinical Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
EPElena Pezzolo
Elena Pezzolo
MOMichela Ortoncelli
Michela Ortoncelli
SFSilvia Mariel Ferrucci
Silvia Mariel Ferrucci
MGMario Bruno Guanti
Mario Bruno Guanti
DSDonatella Schena
Donatella Schena
LNLuigi Naldi
Luigi Naldi
Background: Limited real-world data are available on upadacitinib drug survival in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Objectives: To investigate upadacitinib drug survival, and the reasons and predictors of drug discontinuation in AD patients. Methods: All consecutive patients aged 18–75 years, affected by moderate-to-severe AD, and treated with upadacitinib for more than 1 month at dermatological clinics were included during November 2020–August 2023. Upadacitinib survival was investigated through Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and the predictors through multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: Overall, 325 adult AD patients (mean (SD) age, 38.6(15.6) years) had a 1-year and 1.5-year upadacitinib drug survival of 91.5% and 80.2%, respectively. The main reasons for drug discontinuation (25/325, 7.7%) were adverse events (4.9%), including cutaneous or infectious diseases (1.5%), such as acne and herpes zoster; blood test changes (1.2%), including hypercholesterolemia, creatine phosphokinase or liver enzyme elevation, and lymphopenia; urinary or respiratory infections (0.9%); deep venous thrombosis (0.3%); malignancies (0.3%); loss of consciousness (0.3%); and arthralgias (0.3%); followed by ineffectiveness (0.6%). No specific characteristic was significantly associated with an increased risk of upadacitinib discontinuation. Conclusions: Our findings show that upadacitinib was effective in moderate-to-severe AD after more than 1 year of continuous treatment but point to the need for clinical and laboratory monitoring of patients.

1 January 2025 in Medicina
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Giovanni PaolinoGiovanni Paolino
Giovanni Paolino
Mario ValentiMario Valenti
Mario Valenti
Andrea CarugnoAndrea Carugno
Andrea Carugno
MBMatteo Bianco
Matteo Bianco
DDDario Didona
Dario Didona
SMSanto Raffaele Mercuri
Santo Raffaele Mercuri
Background and Objectives: Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) have significantly advanced the treatment of various dermatological conditions by modulating the JAK-STAT signalling pathway. While these inhibitors have proven effective, they also pose challenges due to associated increase in serum lipid levels and relative potential cardiovascular risks. This perspective work aims to discuss the implications of these lipid alterations proposing management strategies for patients with dermatological disorders under JAKi treatments. Materials and Methods: This manuscript reviews existing and recent literature on the metabolic effects of JAKi, particularly focusing on their impact on lipid profiles in patients treated for dermatological diseases. Results: JAK inhibitors are consistently associated with an increase in both LDL and HDL levels shortly after treatment initiation, which tend to stabilise over time. Despite these changes, there is no clear evidence linking these alterations to an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), indicating a complex interaction between lipid metabolism and JAK-STAT signalling. Conclusions: Although JAKi may induce lipid changes in patients, raising concerns, especially in ones with existing cardiovascular risks, currently there is no proven link to increased MACE in this population. Monitoring lipid levels, alongside lifestyle modifications and possible statin use, can manage these effects without the need to stopping treatment.