VIENNA — Pimecrolimus 1% cream proved safe and effective for the treatment of discoid lupus erythematosus in a small, uncontrolled patient series, Alberto Tlacuilo-Parra, M.D., reported at the annual European congress of rheumatology.
He reported on 10 patients with discoid LE of an average 3-year duration who were placed on 1% pimecrolimus cream twice daily for 8 weeks.
The mean age of the study population was 34 years. Four patients had previously received potent topical and/or systemic corticosteroids without therapeutic response.
The patients' mean clinical disease severity score fell significantly from a baseline of 6.1 to 2.9. Their score on a quality-of-life index improved by a mean of 46%, said Dr. Tlacuilo-Parra of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, Guadalajara.
Five patients rated themselves as having experienced marked improvement, four patients categorized their status as moderately improved, and one rated it as slightly improved, Dr. Tlacuilo-Parra added at the meeting, which was sponsored by the European League Against Rheumatism.
Adverse effects of the topical therapy were confined to several minutes of mild itching at treated sites.