ISSN:
1365-2133
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Forty-four patients with severe psoriasis have been treated with cyclosporin A (CyA) for 2–50 months (mean 17 months). During the study, 31 (70%) of these patients achieved a 〉 70% reduction in PASI score, 39 (88%) achieved a 〉 60% reduction and 42 (95%) a 〉 50% reduction. The mean initial dose of CyA was 3 mg/kg/day and the mean dose was 3–3 mg/kg/day throughout the study. Twenty-five (57%) patients were maintained on 〈inlineGraphic alt="leqslant R: less-than-or-eq, slant" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:00070963:BJD13:les" location="les.gif"/〉 3 mg and six (14%) required 〉 5 mg/kg/day for limited periods to obtain significant improvement. In three of these patients, this was achieved with 6 mg/kg/day but, of the remainder, one required 7 mg and two required 10 mg/kg/day. Of the 44 patients, 32 (73%) are still taking CyA. Patients were discontinued because of: side-effects directly attributable to treatment (n= 4); remission of psoriasis (n= 4); death (n= 1); defaulting (n= 1); infrequent attendance (n= 1); high doses of NSAID were necessary for arthritis (n= 1). Before starting CyA, 39 patients were normotensive; 21 (54%) developed mild hypertension. In 28 patients where the GFRs were estimated before and during treatment, there was a 16% reduction (P 〉 0–0001) during a mean period of 8 months. Two patients developed malignancies. The incidence of hypertension and percentage decrease in GFR were strongly correlated with the dose required to control the psoriasis.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1990.tb02877.x
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