[Cyclosporin A--dermatologic indications]

Abstract

The pharmacology, the biological action, as well as the clinical indications for systemic or topical application of cyclosporin A (CSA) is reviewed. Our studies yielded the following results: In chronic stationary psoriasis, systemic treatment with CSA in very low doses (2.5 mg/kg/d, 13 patients, 10 weeks) led to a 75% reduction of the PASI score without any side reactions. After topical application of CSA (40 patients, 1/5/10% gel and ointment), we observed a subclinical effect. CSA permeated into the deeper layers of the skin and accumulated up to a concentration of 3.880 ng/g (80-39.000 ng/g, polyclonal RIA); these quantities correspond with those found after systemic administration. In spite of this, CSA was not measurable in the blood. Topical CSA reduced the neutrophils in psoriatic skin both selectively and significantly, but did not affect the epidermal synthesis of DNA.