Background:
Cyclosporine therapy is highly effective in the treatment of psoriasis. To minimize side effects, the lowest effective dosage for maintenance therapy should be sought.
Methods:
We selected 61 patients who had achieved clearing or near-clearing of psoriasis during an induction phase of cyclosporine therapy. We then randomly assigned them in a double-blind fashion to receive one of two dosages of cyclosporine (1.5 or 3 mg/kg per day) or placebo for maintenance treatment. For each patient, the time to relapse was the time from the start of maintenance therapy until the patient showed a two-point worsening of psoriasis on a seven-point scale, up to a maximum of 4 months, when the study ended.
Results:
Sixty patients completed the maintenance study. The mean time to relapse was significantly longer in the 3-mg/kg group (12± 1 weeks) than in the 1.5-mg/kg group (9±1 weeks; P=.04) and the placebo group (7± 1