title: Disseminated granuloma annulare: efficacy of cyclosporine therapy.
abstract: Granuloma annulare is an anatomo-clinical entity that is frequently encountered in everyday dermatological practice. We report our experience regarding 4 patients with disseminated granuloma annulare. Each patient was treated with a cycle of cyclosporine therapy for six weeks. A cycle of systemic cyclosporine therapy was started at a dose of 4 mg/kg/day for four weeks, subsequently reduced by 0.5 mg/kg/day every two weeks. The clinical picture more or less completely resolved within three weeks in all of the patients, and there were no relapses during the dose-tapering period or the following 12 months. Cyclosporine was optimally tolerated by all four patients, none of whom experienced any therapy-related side effects. Cyclosporine is a valid therapeutic option for the treatment of disseminated granuloma annulare, although we recommend its use in a protected hospital environment that facilitates patient monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, University of Milan, IRCCS Galeazzi Orthopedic Institute, Via Galeazzi 4, 20161 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spadino
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Altomare
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cainelli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Franchi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Frigerio
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Garutti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taglioni
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Altomare
mesh_terms: D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D016460:Granuloma Annulare / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine