Methotrexate and Prednisone in Pemphigus Vulgaris

Pituitary-adrenal function following dexamethasone-cyclophosphamide pulse therapy for pemphigus

“…However, the morbidity of the disease continued to be high due to the toxicity of high doses of corticosteroids used for long periods 2 . To reduce the toxicity, various immunosuppressants such as azathioprine, 3 methotrexate, 4 cyclophosphamide 5,6 and cyclosporin 7 have been used either alone or in combination with glucocorticoids. Alternative methods of treatment include dapsone, 8 chrysotherapy 9 and plasmapheresis 10…”

Treatment of Pemphigus and Pemphigoid with Azathioprine

“…These drugs include alkylating agents such as cyclophosphamide [8,12], folic acid antagonists such as methotrexate [10,13,14,16,17,21], and purine analogues such as azathioprine [2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 18-20, 25, 27], There is little doubt that these immunosuppressive agents usually have a beneficial effect in the treatment of pemphigus and pemphigoid. Most authors recommend the combined administration of a corticosteroid and an immuno suppressive drug, the latter permitting a significant reduction in steroid dosage.…”