A SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF PRIMARY SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS (PSC) WITH CYCLOSPORINE AND METHYLPREDNISOLONE: REPORT OF A CASE

• Published in: Japanese Journal of National Medical Services Vol. 47; no. 10; pp. 790 - 794
• Main Authors: ICHIHARA, Tohru, KYOKANE, Kazuhiro, SUZUKI, Natsuo, HORISAWA, Masumasa, KATAOKA, Masato, SUGITA, Yoichi, MIYAGAWA, Hiroshi, SUGAR, Shoji, ICHIHARA, Shuh, KOIDE, Akihiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society of National Medical Services 1993
• Subjects: cyclosporine; diffuse type; methylprednisolone; primary sclerosing cholangitis
• ISSN: 0021-1699; 1884-8729
• DOI: 10.11261/iryo1946.47.790

The patient was a 65-year-old man with liver dysfunction and diabetes mellitus. A cholangiogram showed stricture and dilatation of the common and the intrahepatic bile duct. Histological findings of the liver and common bile duct revealed severe portal fibrosis and remarkable fibrosis of the common bile duct wall, a characteristic feature of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). After operative external biliary drainage, the patient was treated for a short time with daily administration of oral cyclosporine and intravenous infusion of methylprednisolone. This combined treatment was followed by dramatic improvement in the radiographic findings of the duct and in blood chemical data. Clinical symptoms disappeared, and the patient has been free from hepatobiliary dysfunction for the last 16 months without any smptoms. These findings indicate that combined treatment of cyclosporine and methylprednisolone can provide a new alternative and successful regimen for PSC.