Recent studies have demonstrated that macrolide antibiotics have anti-infla
mmatory as well as antibacterial effects. Therefore, macrolide antibiotics
have been successfully used to treat patients with various inflammatory dis
eases. We evaluated the effect of macrolide antibiotics in 4 patients with
prurigo pigmentosa who were treated with either 400 mg of clarithromycin or
300 mg of roxyihromycin daily. Eruption and pruritus disappeared with in a
week in all the patients while those symptoms were unresponsive to other d
rugs. Although the mechanism of this effect remains unclear in patients wit
h prurigo pigmentosa, macrolide antibiotics can be considered as an alterna
tive treatment for prurigo pigmentosa. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Bas
el.