ISSN:
1365-2036
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
The efficacy of cyclosporin in the management of ulcerative colitis is recognized. Not all patients respond to this treatment. Existing clinical and laboratory parameters are of little use in identifying those most likely to respond.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Aims:To determine whether in-vitro sensitivity to cyclosporin as measured by a lymphocyte proliferation assay is predictive of in-vivo response to therapy.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Methods:The study comprised seven responders with ulcerative colitis, seven non-responders, and 14 healthy matched controls. A lymphocyte proliferation assay was carried out in the presence of a range of concentrations of cyclosporin and a dose–response curve constructed for each subject. The IC50 value, the concentration of cyclosporin that resulted in 50% inhibition of proliferation, was calculated for each subject. IC50 values for responders, non-responders and controls were compared using a Mann–Whitney test.〈section xml:id="abs1-4"〉〈title type="main"〉Results:There was a wide range of values obtained for the study group as a whole. IC50 values for non-responders were significantly higher than those of responders (P 〈 0.05).〈section xml:id="abs1-5"〉〈title type="main"〉Conclusions:There is a population-wide variation of in-vitro sensitivity to cyclosporin. This is reflected in in-vivo sensitivity as measured by clinical response to cyclosporin treatment. Future therapeutic strategies need to address this inherent variability of individual response to therapy.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2036.2001.00977.x
