ANTIINFLAMMATORY EFFICACY OF LOW-DOSE CYCLOSPORINE-A IN PSORIATIC-ARTHRITIS - A PROSPECTIVE MULTICENTER STUDY

Fifty-five patients with psoriatic arthritis were treated with a low d ose of cyclosporin A (CyA) (mean dose 2.7 mg/kg per day) for a period of 6 months to investigate the efficacy of CBA on disease parameters, Significant improvement in the joint complaints and inflammation param eters was observed including a decrease in the number of painful (-46% ) and swollen (-45%) joints, tenderness (Ritchie Index: -50%) and degr ee of swelling (-46%), patient's assessment of pain (-35%), the durati on of morning joint stiffness (-3.7%), as well as a decrease in C-reac tive protein (-52%), A 50% reduction of joint complaints required a to tal of 24 weeks, whereas a 50% reduction of skin involvement was achie ved after 5-6 weeks of treatment. Four patients left the study due to adverse events: creatinine level increase in two patients, hypertensio n in one patient and gastroenteritis in the fourth patient, Joint scin tigraphy in 18 patients indicated an improvement or stable condition i n 61% of cases after a mean follow-up of approximately 8 months, The r esults of this prospective study show that low-dose CyA effectively im proves not only skin lesions, but also joint complaints in psoriatic a rthritis.