Cyclosporine for Plaque-Type Psoriasis: Results of a Multidose, Double-Blind Trial

The effectiveness of cyclosporine in the treatment of psoriasis was a serendipitous finding by Mueller and Herrmann, 1 who included four patients with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis in a study of therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. We confirmed this finding in a double-blind trial of the efficacy of cyclosporine for psoriasis. 2 The effective doses of cyclosporine administered to patients with psoriasis in these and other trials ranged from 1 to 15 mg per kilogram of body weight per day. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Because the reports were based mainly on studies of small numbers of patients, it has been difficult to determine the proper dose. Therefore, . . .