Therapeutic Efficacy of Mycophenolate Mofetil in Atopic Dermatitis

Lee, Sang Wook; Park, Young Min; Kim, Hyung Ok; Kim, Chung Won

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis has been thought be a T cell mediated disease and autoimmune response may be responsible for chronicity of typical skin manifestation. Mycophenolate mofetil(MMF), a new immunosuppressive agent can be tried in the treatment of atopic dermatits.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the efficacy and safety of MMF in the treatment of atopic dermatitis in Korean patients.
METHODS
7 patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatits were recruited in the treatment of oral MMF 2 g daily for 6 weeks and followed up for another 6 weeks. Severity of atopic dermatitis was measured using SCORAD index. Laboratory examination was performed to check the side effect of MMF during the study.
RESULTS
Six of 7 patients finished the treatment courses. After 6 weeks of therapy with MMF, patients' symptoms were improved and mean SCORAD index was significantly reduced from 67.2+/-15.5 to 28.7+/-13.5(p<0.01). Significant side effects such as neutropenia, infection, renal toxicity and hepatotoxicity were not observed. During the follow-up period, patients could be managed by topical steroid and oral antihistamine and flare-up was not observed.
CONCLUSION
According to our study, MMF is an effective, safe and well-tolerated immunosuppressive agent in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. MMF is a promising alternative in the treatment of severe atopic dermatitis.