Intermittent vs. continuous 1-year cyclosporin use in chronic plaque psoriasis

Objective To comparatively assess the impact of intermittent and continuous cyclosporine (CyA) administration in chronic plaque psoriasis. Methods A two-step procedure was followed for the 51 patients who were randomly assigned in the study. CyA in doses 2.5 mg kg(-1) day(-1) escalated up to 5 mg kg(-1) day(-1) for efficacy reasons, were given to all patients during the initial 12-week step. Only patients who achieved a minimum 50% reduction of baseline PASI could enter the 2nd step, which lasted for nine additional months. Subjects on the intermittent schedule stopped all therapy to receive other 12-week course(s) if and when they relapsed. Patients on the continuous schedule continued CyA therapy at the lowest, individualized, effective dose. Results 78% of all patients achieved a PASI-75, with subjects on continuous treatment manifesting greater improvement (92% vs 62%, P = 0.008). The decrease of DLQI was 89%, without any difference between the two schedules (P = 0.214). The median effective and maintenance doses were 3 (2.5-3.8) and 1.8 (0.7-3) mg kg(-1) day(-1), respectively for intermittent and continuous schedules. A significant correlation was observed between the clinical parameters and DLQI change at 1 year, for both groups of patients. Dose modifications for safety reasons were necessary in 5 patients, but no treatment discontinuation was required. Patients on the continuous regimen received 139% of the mean cumulative annual CyA dose of Intermittent therapy. Conclusion The significantly higher annual cumulative dose required for the continuous CyA regimen compared to intermittent, leads to the suggestion that the first modality may offer higher physical improvement but must remain an option for those patients who do not respond or are uncooperative with intermittent CyA use.