Tacrolimus: the drug for the turn of the millennium?
BACKGROUND
Tacrolimus has been shown to be a powerful suppressor of the immune system. It was introduced into clinical use to prevent allograft rejection and is now routinely used in kidney, liver, and heart transplantation. Recently, 2 double-blind multicenter studies demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of topical and systemic tacrolimus in the inflammatory skin diseases atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.


METHODS
MEDLINE was searched for relevant publications and combined with our own clinical, in vitro, and in vivo studies.


METHODS
All studies dealing with tacrolimus and dermatology were reviewed.


METHODS
Publications with clinically relevant data were included in this review.


CONCLUSIONS
Topical tacrolimus is a safe and effective therapeutic agent that may open a new era in the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases, particularly for patients with atopic dermatitis. Before its full potential in dermatology can be assessed, more clinical experience in treating children and comparison with the criterion standard of anti-inflammatory therapy, glucocorticosteroids, are needed.
D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*