Short-term use of cyclosporin A in severe psoriasis.

The effectiveness of cyclosporin A (CyA) in low dosages (mean 5 mg/kg/day) for short-term treatment of severe psoriasis was studied. Of five patients with severe progressive psoriasis vulgaris (mean PASI score 43.8), an almost complete remission in three patients, and a large reduction in PASI score in the remaining two patients, was obtained within 4 weeks. No important clinical side-effects were found but there was biochemical evidence of slight renal dysfunction in one patient. The mean percentage reduction in the PASI score was 84%. It was concluded that the results reported justify further study of the use of CyA in the treatment of severe psoriasis.