Efficacy of Low-Dose Cyclosporine in Severe Atopic Skin Disease

To the Editor.— Cyclosporine is a drug that is new to dermatology and, therefore, awaits further study.¹,²Its use, however, must be closely monitored because of possible side effects.¹Recently, in psoriasis the favorable effect of low-dose cyclosporine (≤5 mg/ kg/d) treatment in patients with severe drug-resistant psoriasis has been reported.³,⁴Studies on cyclosporine therapy in severe cases of drug-resistant atopic dermatitis have not yet been reported, to our knowledge. Report of a Case.— We have observed the temporary effect of short-term cyclosporine treatment in two women (Table), with severe, drug-resistant, pruritic, activedisseminated, chronic prurigolike lesions and eczema. Case 1 was classified as atopic dermatitis with serum IgE levels greater than or equal to 20000 IU/mL (≥48000 μg/L). Clinical Data on Cyclosporine Treatment in Two Patients With Severe Drug Resistant Atopic Dermatitis Body Area Affected, % Improve-Patient ment Cyclosporine No./ After 4 After 4 Blood Age, y/ Start