title: Cyclosporin A therapy for interstitial pneumonitis associated with rheumatic disease.
abstract: Abstract To determine the efficacy of cyclosporin A (CysA) for the treatment of steroid-resistant interstitial pneumonitis (IP), we enrolled 25 patients with various rheumatic diseases and steroid-resistant IP in a pilot study [4 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 2 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 11 with polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM), 4 with systemic sclerosis (SSc), 1 with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), 3 with Sjögren syndrome (SS)]. Twelve patients (48%) showed a persistent response to CysA therapy, and 7 of them had PM/DM, including so-called amyopathic DM. Patients with a persistent response had moderately elevated lactate dehydroxygenase (LDH) levels, whereas patients who died had much higher LDH levels and hypoxia. Even patients with low blood levels of CysA achieved a persistent response. In responding patients, the symptoms, chest X-ray findings, arterial oxygen tension, and LDH level all improved after less than 4 weeks. In conclusion, CysA seem to be useful for treating patients with steroid-resistant IP, whose duration is short and severity is mild.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Internal Medicine, Juntendo University, School of Medicine , 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421 , Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokano
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authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogasawara
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authors.lastname: Ando
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authors.lastname: Fujii
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authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaneko
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authors.lastname: Tamura
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authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yano
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authors.lastname: Hirokawa
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authors.lastname: Fukazawa
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authors.lastname: Murashima
authors.forename: S
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authors.lastname: Kobayashi
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authors.lastname: Sekigawa
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authors.lastname: Takasaki
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authors.lastname: Iida
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hashimoto