Both glucosamine and cyclosporin have been reported to show immunomodulatory effect with inhibition of each different key transcription factor for cytokine gene expression and T-cell function. The overall purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of the combination of cyclosporin with glucosamine for the treatment of patients with atopic dermatitis. Twelve patients more than 12 years old who required systemic cyclosporin were included in the study. Two of them dropped out due to violation of medication schedule. The single (S) and combination (C) regimens were crossed over every 2 weeks without a washout period between the cross-over for 6 months. Five patients were randomly assigned to the S regimen first (SC sequence), whereas the other five were given the C first (CS sequence). The change of SCORAD index was analyzed as the primary efficacy end-point by general linear model and piecewise linear mixed model. The SCORAD index was reduced with both SC and CS sequence regimens. In particular, index reduction with the C was more than that associated with S regimen; this difference increased as time lapsed. The glucosamine combination was predicted to cause an additive decrease in the mean percent change of the SCORAD index (~6%), with decreasing interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 cytokine levels but without increasing treatment-related adverse events. This study suggests that the C would produce better clinical outcomes than the S regimen in patients with atopic dermatitis, although confirmatory clinical trials are warranted to determine the effect of combination.
© 2013 Japanese Dermatological Association.