Photophoresis Versus Ciclosporine in Severe Atopic Dermatitis

Summary

Severe atopic dermatitis (AD) is a recurrent and debilitating disease often requiring systemic immunosuppressive treatment. The efficacy of cyclosporine A (CsA) is well proven but potential side effects are concerning. Several reports point at extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) as an efficient alternative treatment modality with few and mild side effects. However, no direct comparison between CsA and ECP in the treatment of AD has been performed so far. In this trial we test the hypothesis that ECP is non-inferior to standard treatment with CsA.

Timeline

Start

2002-06

Primary completion

2003-08

Completion

2004-01

Drugs

Indications