This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Ira Bell, MD; Gerald D. Weinstein, MD

Arch Dermatol. 1985;121(2):195-196.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

In this issue of the ARCHIVES, Paslin¹ describes three patients in whom a remission of lichen planus occurred as a consequence of short-term cyclophosphamide therapy. It was obviously a small, open-label drug trial, and therefore, it should be interpreted carefully. As reviewed by Paslin, lichen planus has been theorized to be immunologically mediated by T lymphocytes. If so, it is not surprising that the condition responds dramatically to immunosuppressive therapy.

Many diseases in dermatology are mediated primarily or secondarily by the immune system; others are hyperproliferative and could therefore be expected to respond similarly to the cytotoxic effects inherent in many immunosuppressive agents. In some diseases, the efficacy of immunosuppressive agents is relatively undisputed and may save lives. Examples include cyclophosphamide and azathioprine therapy for pemphigus²; methotrexate³ and hydroxyurea⁴ plaque and pustular therapy for psoriasis; and cyclophosphamide and chlorambucil therapy for Wegner's granulomatosis.⁵ Immunosuppressive . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Irvine, Calif

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?