[Hopeful]

prayingrbc,

It may be that they are testing whether your dad can tolerate any cyclosporine. Some people can't. It is good that they are allowing his kidneys a chance to recover.

My comments below again pertain to the modified form of Cyclosporine and not SandImmune...

Your dad was previously on a dosage of 9 mg/kg/day, which is fairly high.
He currently is on 1 mg/kg/day, which is likely too low.

Cyclosporine is thought to have a fairly narrow therapeutic range: too little and it does nothing, too much and it is very toxic. Unfortunately, everyone metabolizes cyclosporine differently. So, what may work for one person, won't for another.

The papers that I have read and my AA expert had suggested a therapeutic range of 2.5mg/kg/day - 6 mg/kg/day. However, there is no formally established cyclosporine dosage for the treatment of AA.

I have experienced the toxic effects of too high a cyclosporine dosage (12 mg/kg/day).
I more recently have experienced the limited benefit of too low a cyclosporine dosage (2 mg/kg/day). My counts have continued to slowly fall while on this dosage.

While your dad is on cyclosporine, encourage him to drink a lot of water. Also discuss with his doctor whether he should take magnesium, as I have read this can be beneficial to the kidneys while taking cyclosporine.

What other medications was your dad taking?