HOW TO USE: Take this medication by mouth, usually 4 times a day (before meals and at bedtime) or as directed by your doctor. To reduce your risk of side effects, your doctor may direct you to start this medication at a low dose and gradually increase your dose.
Tacrolimus (also FK-506 or fujimycin, trade names Prograf, Advagraf, Protopic) is an immunosuppressive drug used mainly after allogeneic organ transplant to lower the risk of organ rejection.acrolimus was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994 for use in liver transplantation; this has been extended to include kidney, heart, small bowel, pancreas, lung, trachea, skin, cornea, bone marrow, and limb transplants.
A new class of drugs, called topical immunomodulators, can treat serious skin conditions without the side effects found in corticosteroids: tacrolimus ointment (ProtopicÂ®) and pimecrolimus cream (ElidelÂ®) have been shown to suppress the activity of the immune system in the skin, including the butterfly rash, subacute cutaneous lupus, and possibly even discoid lupus lesions.