Clinical Drug Experience Knowledgebase

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

must give written informed consent
must be at least 18 years of age
must have been diagnosed with atopic dermatitis fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of Hanfin und Rajka and having active inflammation
must have a severity score of 6-9 according to Langeland and Rajka and an EASI of > 20
must have a PGA of "moderate","severe", or "very severe" and a pruritus score of "moderate" or"severe" at baseline
must have total lymphocyte counts and CD4+ lymphocyte counts at or above the lower limit of normal

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients with severe diseases, that might interfere with the evaluation of AD
Patiens with severe diseases of other organ systems that might put the patient on risk during the study or might interfere with the evaluations
Patients older than 65 years
Systemic treatment for atopic dermatitis ( e.g. cyclosporine, mycophenolat- mofetil,inferferon-gamma, PUVA) or systemic treatment with immunosuppressive/immunomodulating substances( e.g. azathioprin,methotrexate,biologics or hyposensitization - therapy) for other indications within 28 days prior to baseline
local treatment for atopic dermatitis with pimecrolimus/tacrolimus, steroids > class III, unstable use of steroid< class III, emollients or local antiseptics/antibiotics, UVB,UVA within 14 days prior to baseline
Serious local infection (e.g. cellulitis, abscess)or systemic infection (e.g. pneumonia,septicemia) within 3 months prior to the first dose of Alefacept
Congenital or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
History of an invasive malignancy. Patients with a history of treatmend squamous cell and/or basal call carcinomas limited to the skin are not exluded
Laboratory or clinical evidence of active tuberculosis
Current treatment with any therapy for active tuberculosis or tuberculosis prophylaxis
for female patients, unless postmenopausal or surgically sterile, unwillingness to practice effective contraception, as defined by the investigator, during the study. the rhythm method is not to be used as the sole method of contraception. Female patients considering becoming pregnant while in the study are excluded
female patients who are currently pregnant or breast-feeding
abnormal chemistry, i.e., LFTs greater than three times the upper limit of normal
Current enrollment in any other investigational drug study
previous participation in this study or previous studies with Alefacept