Vol.22 No.2

Original Article

Mycophenolate mofetil therapy for juvenile dermatomyositis with immune thrombocytopenic purpura

Authors

Chikara Ogimi1,2 , Nazuna Honma1 , Risa Tanaka1 , Tsutomu Oh-ishi1

  • Division of Infectious Disease, Immunology, and Allergy, Saitama Children’s Medical Center, Saitama, Japan
  • Division of Infectious Diseases, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan
Received:

14 October 2010

Accepted:

2 June 2011

Published online:

28 June 2011

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Abstract

A 6-year-old girl, who had received corticosteroid and cyclosporine on the diagnosis of interstitial pneumonitis related to juvenile dermatomyositis, developed severe thrombocytopenia. Her thrombocytopenia was resistant to repeated intravenous immunoglobulin administration and methylprednisolone pulse therapy. After additional treatment with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), instead of cyclosporine, the thrombocytopenia improved, facilitating a reduction in the dose of corticosteroid without exacerbation of the interstitial pneumonitis. We propose MMF as effective option in the treatment of immune thrombocytopenic purpura with autoimmune disease.

Key words

Cyclosporine - Immune thrombocytopenic purpura - Interstitial pneumonitis - Juvenile dermatomyositis - Mycophenolate mofetil