Low-dose, short-term ciclosporin (Neoral®) therapy is effective in improving patients' quality of life as assessed by Skindex-16 and GHQ-28 in mild to severe psoriasis patients.

Therapies for psoriasis have focused not only on ameliorating the severity of the skin lesions, but also on the quality of life (QOL). Here, the efficacy of low-dose, short-term administration of ciclosporin (Neoral®, as CyA) was investigated. Forty-one psoriasis patients were given CyA orally (3 mg/kg per day) twice daily before breakfast and dinner until the psoriatic area and severity index (PASI) scores decreased by at least 75%. Surveys were conducted before and after the therapy to ascertain QOL, itch, nail condition, joint pain, stress associated with topical application and therapy satisfaction. QOL was assessed by using the Japanese version of Skindex-16 specific to skin diseases, and the Japanese version of the GHQ-28, which assesses mental health. Data collected from 35 patients were analyzed. Remission was achieved in 26 patients (74%), and the average length required to achieve remission was 101.5 days. The average PASI score significantly decreased from 17.8 to 3.3 after the therapy. Remission lasted 6 months or longer in 40% of the patients. The average length of time before restarting systemic therapy was 182.0 days. This duration for patients with PASI scores of <13 was 287.5 days while for patients with PASI scores of ≥13, it was significantly shorter at 120.1 days. Five adverse events were recorded in three patients, but were not serious. The total Skindex-16 score significantly decreased especially in the "emotions' and "functioning" categories. GHQ scores also significantly decreased in "somatic symptoms,""anxiety and insomnia," and "depression". With regard to patients' satisfaction with their therapy, 88.5% of the patients reported "satisfied" or "slightly satisfied". These results demonstrate that low-dose, short-term administration of CyA (3 mg/kg per day) is one of the best therapies for psoriasis patients with PASI scores of <13, while QOL assessment is a very useful tool for evaluating the value of therapy.