SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2004
8/17/04
Cyclosporin therapy of chronic idiopathic urticaria
Summary
Background - Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is sometimes difficult to treat with little or no improvement during use of antihistamines (AH) and usual anti-inflammatory agents. There have been previous small studies of cyclosporin (CsA) therapy in severe CIU.
Findings - Baskan et al of the Uludag University Hospital in Bursa, Turkey evaluated the response to treatment with CsA (4 mg/kg/day) for 4 or 12 weeks in 20 adults with CIU unresponsive to AH and a positive autologous serum skin test (ASST). They found a marked decrease in wheal numbers and itching during the first 4 weeks of therapy with no additional or more persistent benefit when the CsA treatment was continued past the first month.
Reference
J Dermatol Treat 2004;15:164-8
Editor's Comments
These findings are not novel, with similar effects of CsA therapy previous reported by Greaves' group in a limited number of those with severe CIU unresponsive to AH. However, this current preliminary study does suggest that continuation of CsA therapy for more than 4 weeks confers no additional benefit. This is both surprising and helpful information since a concern about CsA treatment in this dose range would be cumulative adverse effects, particularly on renal function. It would be important to know what a more prolonged follow-up evaluation after a 4 week CsA treatment period would show in this study.
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