Effect of low-dose cyclosporin A microemulsion on disease severity, interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor alpha production in severe pediatric atopic dermatitis

Background. The release of cytokines [interleukin-6 (IL6), IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)] by skin cells is involved in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). Objective:To evaluate the effect of low-dose cyclosporin A (CyA) on clinical symptoms and cytokine secretion in severe pediatric AD. Methods: Ten children with severe AD (SCORAD index > 50) were treated for 8 weeks with CyA. The initial dose of 2.5 mg/kg/day was titrated to a maximum of 5 mg/kg/day until a SCORAD reduction of greater than or equal to 35% was achieved ('treatment response'). After stopping CyA all patients entered a 4-week follow-up period. Cytokine secretion (IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha) from patients' PBMC was assessed by ELISA before and after CyA treatment and was compared with 18 healthy nonatopic controls. Only the data of patients, who responded to CyA and did not experience a relapse during the follow-up period, were evaluated for this paper. Results: Seven patients responded to CyA without relapse during the follow-up period. The median SCORAD index in these patients improved from 71 at baseline to 22 after CyA treatment (p < 0.001). AD patients' PBMC produced more IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha than PBMC of controls. Suppression of IL-6 (p < 0.05) and IL-8 (p < 0.05) production was observed after CyA treatment. TNF-alpha levels were unchanged by CyA in all patients. Conclusions: The reduction in severity of pediatric AD with CyA is associated with decreased production of IL-6 and IL-8, but not TNF-alpha by PBMC. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.