title: [Cyclosporin and autoimmune diseases. 2: Human autoimmune diseases].
abstract: The effectiveness of cyclosporin against human auto-immune diseases has been well established in uveitis, rheumatoid arthritis and insulin-dependent diabetes. No firm conclusion can be drawn from trials conducted in other diseases, since the results are discordant or based on an insufficient number of subjects. In view of the side-effects, and notably the risk of nephrotoxicity, of the drug, the blood levels of cyclosporine must be measured and the patient's renal function evaluated at regular intervals. For the time being, these risks reduce the prescription of cyclosporin to the severe forms of autoimmune diseases, i.e. those which resist conventional corticosteroid therapy. Things are different with diabetes, since cyclosporin is the only immunosuppressant which has proved effective in inducing remissions. But whether such remissions can be maintained in the long term remains uncertain, and this type of treatment is still limited to therapeutic trials.
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003524:Cyclosporins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D003524:Cyclosporins
vernacular_title: Cyclosporine et maladies auto-immunes. Deuxième partie: Maladies auto-immunes humaines.