Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis with Low Dose Cyclosporine (Neoral^®) Once Daily before Breakfast

Abstract

Seven patients with severe atopic dermatitis, including 6 males and 1 female, were enrolled in the study. The average age was 35 years. We administered cyclosporine microemulsion (Neoral^®) at 1.1～1.9 mg/kg once before breakfast, and measured the serum cyclosporine level at 1, 2, and 4 hours after dosing (C1～C4). In most patients, rapid improvement of skin manifestations was achieved, with 38～65% (average 51％) improvement of the Japanese Dermatological Society Atopic dermatitis severity score within 2 weeks. No side effects such as elevated blood pressure or serum creatinine level occurred. In all cases, Tmax was an hour later after dosing. The Cmax was 768～1,379 (average 1,010) ng/ml. These results suggest that therapy with low dose cyclosporine once daily can reduce side effects, and it also is a useful regimen in terms of cost effectiveness.