[Treatment with tacrolimus in autoimmune diseases].
Tacrolimus is an immunosuppressive drug used most successfully as a primary drug to suppress the rejection of transplants. Tacrolimus may also be useful as a novel therapy for autoimmune disease. There are various reports in the bibliography about the use of tacrolimus in the treatment of some autoimmune diseases: inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune hepatitis, cutaneous, neurologic, renal, endocrine or eye disease. In this review of more than 130 papers, we discuss the rationale for the use of tacrolimus in autoimmune disease and report the clinical experience with the drug in the management of a variety of autoimmune diseases. But, although there are a lot questions that require future research (dose, duration of treatment, when to begin tacrolimus treatment, how to monitor it, etc.), there is also wide experience with tacrolimus in the treatment of this type of disease.
Sádaba
B
B
Servicio de Farmacología Clínica, Clínica Universitaria, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona. bsadaba@unav.es
Azanza
J R
JR
García Quetglas
E
E
Fernández
V
V
D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016559:Tacrolimus