Cyclosporine and Extracorporeal Photopheresis are Equipotent in Treating Severe Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized Cross-Over Study Comparing Two Efficient Treatment Modalities.

Background: Severe atopic dermatitis (AD) is a recurrent and debilitating disease often requiring systemic immunosuppressive treatment. The efficacy of cyclosporine A (CsA) is well proven but potential side effects are concerning. Several reports point at extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) as an alternative treatment modality with few and mild side effects.

Clinical efficacy of zanolimumab (HuMax-CD4): two phase 2 studies in refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

The efficacy and safety of zanolimumab in patients with refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) have been assessed in two phase 2, multicenter, prospective, open-label, uncontrolled clinical studies. Patients with treatment refractory CD4(+) CTCL (mycosis fungoides [MF], n = 38; Sézary syndrome [SS], n = 9) received 17 weekly infusions of zanolimumab (early-stage patients, 280 and 560 mg; advanced-stage patients, 280 and 980 mg). The primary end point was objective response (OR) as assessed by composite assessment of index lesion disease activity score.

Defining early mycosis fungoides.

This editorial review summarizes the results of 5 meetings sponsored by the International Society for Cutaneous Lymphoma at which the clinicopathologic and ancillary features of early mycosis fungoides were critically examined. Based on this analysis, an algorithm was developed for the diagnosis of early mycosis fungoides involving a holistic integration of clinical, histopathologic, immunopathologic, and molecular biological characteristics. A novel aspect of this algorithm is that it relies on multiple types of criteria rather than just one, for example, histopathology.

HuMax-CD4: a fully human monoclonal anti-CD4 antibody for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris.

Background: Psoriasis is characterized by infiltration with mononuclear cells. Especially activated memory CD4+ T cells are critical in the pathogenesis. Interaction between the CD4 receptor and the major histocompatibility complex class II molecule is important for T-cell activation.