Since cyclosporine (and other immunosuppressant drugs) suppress the immune response and since autoimmune diseases come from an immune response gone awry, it must have occurred to someone to try treating the latter with the former. What have the results been?
Cyclosporin is only used for serious autoimmune problems because of the need for constant monitoring while on the drug. The ‘results’ are varied, depending on the condition being treated and the severity of the side-effects experienced.
I was treated with Cyclosporin (and other drugs) a couple of years ago for an autoimmune disorder (Uveitis) but had to discontinue because the side-effects were worse than the prospect of going blind!
(It is mainly used as an anti-rejection drug for organ transplants btw). If it was a matter of life and death, I’m sure I could have put up with the s/e with more equanimity!
There are circumstances where immuno-suppressive drugs are used in auto-immune disease. In addition to possibly nasty side-effects both short and long term, there are other complications. For instance - lowered resistance to infections. Also, the immune system has several components. The one that rejects organs may or may not be the one malfunctioning in a particular auto-immune disease. It’s a pretty complicated system, even more so when it goes awry.
Cyclosporine (Sandimmune) and azathioprine (Imuran) have both been used to slow the immune system’s progression in destroying insulin-producing beta cells in Type 1A diabetes. So far, the studies have shown this treatment to be effective only for the first few years after the diagnosis. Furthermore, as kambuckta and Broomstick have stated, the side effects of these drugs can be so undesirable that their use is hard to justify barring a life-threatening condition. Here’s a summary of that research:
Thanks for the answers which I found informative as usual.
They do treat autoimmune diseases with drugs that suppress immunity, but not as powerful as cyclosporine. They are usually based on cortison or cortisol, or a derivative therefrom. Those who have rheumatoid arthritis, for example, are prescribed such drugs. The problem with even these drugs, however, is that the person develops a Cushing syndrome, with weakened bones, fatty tissue development, and other not so pleasant side effects. It’s always a matter of balancing the benefits with the detriments.
Cylosporine has been used to treat almost all the various autoimmune diseases. Because of its toxicities, however, cyclosporine is often considered as a second or third line therapy, and/or for severe disease.
A partial list of some of the (autoimmune) conditions for which cyclosporine has been used includes:[ul]
[li]rheumatoid arthritis[/li][li]psoriasis +/- psoriatic arthritis[/li][li]lupus[/li][li]Behcet’s Diseases (and uveitis)[/li][li]dermatopolymyositis[/li][li]multiple sclerosis[/li][li]diabetes (limited net benefit)[/li][li]ulcerative colitis[/li][li]asthma (!)[/li][li]many others[/ul][/li]Although often effective, cyclosporine is a nasty drug with plenty of side effects. A real case can be made that use of cylcosporine simply replaces one disease with another (cyclosporine toxicity). Some of the side effects of cyclosporine include:[ul]
[li]kidney damage[/li][li]high blood pressure[/li][li]high cholesterol[/li][li]high blood sugar[/li][li]brain and nerve damage[/li][li]severe infections[/li][li]cancer[/li][/ul]
So, you can see that its use can’t be taken lightly. Still, if other treatments aren’t working, and if the patient understands the risks, cyclosporine can be of real benefit in autoimmune diseases. (Note that the main use of cyclosprine remains the prevention of transplant rejection and, even for that, its use is becoming supplanted by other drugs eg. tacrolimus)