Effect of a new topical cyclosporin formulation on human allergic contact dermatitis

We studied the effect of a new topical cyclosporin (CS) formulation on the suppression of allergic contact dermatitis. 4 test sites were outlined on the back of healthy male volunteers. For 7 consecutive days, the test sites were treated as follows: #1: CS formulation (10%), #2: placebo formulation, #3: flumethasone pivalate (FP) formulation (0.02%; #4: no treatment. On day 8, we challenged all test sites in the diphenylcyclopropenone (DCP) sensitized individuals. Photographic and clinical documentation was performed daily. 24 h after the DCP skin challenge, a marked redness accompanied by severe itching and slight pain occurred in the test sites pretreated with CS (#1) and placebo (#2). A considerably milder reaction was noted in the untreated test site (#4) and only a faint redness was noted in the test site pretreated with FP (#3). After 36 h, a further increase in the cutaneous reaction was documented in CS and placebo pretreated test sites (#1, 2). In agreement with other workers, topical CS did not suppress experimentally-induced allergic contact dermatitis in man. On the contrary, in CS and placebo pretreated areas (#1, 2), an increased cutaneous reaction was observed. This observation may be explained by the extensive pretreatment with the topical formulation of CS and placebo, which possibly caused a profound perturbation of the stratum corneum, enabling excessive allergen penetration compared to the untreated area with intact stratum corneum.