Role of ustekinumab in treatment of ulcerative colitis: a narrative review

Ustekinumab (UST) is a biological drug that has been recently licensed as a novel therapy for ulcerative colitis, one of the two main conditions that constitute inflammatory bowel diseases. UST has been previously successfully used in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, two conditions in which dysregulation of the immune system causes inflammation in the skin and joints, and Crohn's disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease. This led to great interest in the use of UST for treating patients with moderate and severe ulcerative colitis. UST is administered with a weight-based intravenous infusion followed by subcutaneous administration every 8 weeks, which can be performed at home and is effective in reducing symptoms of the disease with a particularly favorable safety profile. These features make UST a suitable option for treating especially elderly and frail patients, as well as patients who did not benefit or had side effects with other biological therapies and patients who also suffer from psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis.