PMID- 27663145
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20180205
LR  - 20180308
IS  - 1365-2230 (Electronic)
IS  - 0307-6938 (Linking)
VI  - 41
IP  - 7
DP  - 2016 Oct
TI  - Effectiveness of weekly azathioprine pulse in the treatment of chronic plaque 
      psoriasis: an open-label study.
PG  - 717-22
LID - 10.1111/ced.12887 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Azathioprine is a potent immunosuppressive drug that has been used in 
      many immune-mediated diseases. There are a few reports of its use in psoriasis; 
      however, azathioprine weekly pulse doses have not been evaluated in this disease. 
      AIM: The objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of 
      weekly oral pulse doses of azathioprine for the treatment of chronic plaque 
      psoriasis, and to determine the side effects of this regimen both clinically and 
      biochemically. METHODS: In this open-label clinical trial, a 300 mg bolus dose of 
      azathioprine was given once every week orally for 24 weeks to patients with 
      chronic plaque psoriasis having body surface area involvement of >/= 10% and 
      Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) of >/= 10. Patients were evaluated every 
      4 weeks for 24 weeks to determine the response to treatment and any adverse 
      effects (AEs), and then followed up for a further period of 12 weeks to determine 
      any relapse of the disease. RESULTS: There were 50 patients in the study, of whom 
      28 (56%) completed the 24 weeks of treatment and 27 (54%) completed the 12-week 
      post-treatment follow-up. Azathioprine 300 mg weekly pulse was effective in 
      achieving PASI 75 in 42% of patients, PASI 90 in 36% of patients and PASI 100 in 
      22% of patients. In five patients (10%), the therapy had to be withdrawn due to 
      AEs. CONCLUSION: Weekly azathioprine pulse appears to be an effective treatment 
      for chronic plaque psoriasis, and can be used as an alternative therapy to other 
      available therapeutic agents.
CI  - (c) 2016 British Association of Dermatologists.
FAU - Verma, P
AU  - Verma P
AD  - Department of Dermatology and Venereology, All India Institute of Medical 
      Sciences, New Delhi, India. prokverma@hotmail.com.
FAU - Verma, K K
AU  - Verma KK
AD  - Department of Dermatology and Venereology, All India Institute of Medical 
      Sciences, New Delhi, India.
FAU - Khanna, N
AU  - Khanna N
AD  - Department of Dermatology and Venereology, All India Institute of Medical 
      Sciences, New Delhi, India.
FAU - Gupta, S
AU  - Gupta S
AD  - Department of Dermatology and Venereology, All India Institute of Medical 
      Sciences, New Delhi, India.
FAU - Bhari, N
AU  - Bhari N
AD  - Department of Dermatology and Venereology, All India Institute of Medical 
      Sciences, New Delhi, India.
LA  - eng
PT  - Clinical Trial
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Clin Exp Dermatol
JT  - Clinical and experimental dermatology
JID - 7606847
RN  - 0 (Immunosuppressive Agents)
RN  - MRK240IY2L (Azathioprine)
SB  - IM
CIN - Clin Exp Dermatol. 2017 Oct;42(7):805-806. PMID: 28736843
MH  - Administration, Oral
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Azathioprine/*administration & dosage
MH  - Chronic Disease
MH  - Drug Administration Schedule
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Immunosuppressive Agents/*administration & dosage
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Prospective Studies
MH  - Psoriasis/*drug therapy/pathology
MH  - Severity of Illness Index
MH  - Treatment Outcome
MH  - Young Adult
EDAT- 2016/09/25 06:00
MHDA- 2018/02/06 06:00
CRDT- 2016/09/25 06:00
PHST- 2015/10/21 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2016/09/25 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2016/09/25 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2018/02/06 06:00 [medline]
AID - 10.1111/ced.12887 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Clin Exp Dermatol. 2016 Oct;41(7):717-22. doi: 10.1111/ced.12887.