ISSN:
1365-2133
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
On each of 10 patients with untreated plaque psoriasis, two symmetrical plaques were injected with cyclosporin A or placebo on six occasions over 12 days, in a double-blind manner. Biopsies taken from these lesions at 14 days were examined for differences in cellular composition using a double-labelling immunofluorescent technique.The cyclosporin-injected plaques cleared significantly better than those injected with placebo(P〈0.001).In the epidermis of the cyclosporin-injected plaques, total and HLA-DR+ CD4+ and CD8+ T cell numbers were significantly decreased compared to corresponding plaques treated with placebo (total CD4+, total CD8+, DR+ CD4+, P〈0.001; DR+ CD8+, P〈0.02). Similarly, T lymphocyte numbers in the dermis were decreased in the cyclosporin compared to placebo-treated plaques; the reduction in total CD4+ and DR+ CD8+ T cell numbers was statistically significant (P〈0.005).Although total numbers of epidermal dendritic cells were not significantly altered, the DR+CD1 - dendritic cell subpopulation was markedly decreased (P〈0.001) and DR-CD1+ dendritic cells increased (P〈0.05) in the plaques injected with cyclosporin compared to corresponding placebo-treated plaques.These findings show that cyclosporin injected in situ is effective in clearing psoriasis and probably exerts this beneficial effect by its action on T lymphocytes. A suitable topical preparation that allows penetration of the drug should prove helpful in the treatment of psoriasis.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1989.tb07784.x
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