Ultraviolet-free phototherapy

Authors: Jean Krutmann¹; Kathrin Medve-Koenigs; Thomas Ruzicka²; Ulrich Ranft¹; Jan H. Wilkens³

Source: Photodermatology Photoimmunology & Photomedicine, Volume 21, Number 2, April 2005 , pp. 59-61(3)

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Abstract:

Background:

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation phototherapy has been used for decades in the management of common skin diseases. On the other hand, UV radiation is a complete carcinogen and as a consequence, UV phototherapy is usually not used for the long-term management of children and young adults and in combination with topical or systemic immunosuppressants. Purpose:

The therapeutic effectiveness of a new UV-free irradiation device in the treatment of patients with atopic hand and/or foot eczema was studied. Methods:

In a single-blinded trial 10 patients with atopic hand and/or foot eczema were treated with a sham irradiation device and with the new developed UV-free irradiation device DermoDyne^® during the following 4 weeks. All irradiation's lasted 30 min per treatment three times weekly. Results:

UV-free irradiation was found to induce a significant clinical improvement of atopic hand and foot eczema (P=0.0001) in marked contrast to the sham-irradiation (P=0.39). Conclusion:

Our studies demonstrate that visible light can be successfully used for the treatment of patients with atopic eczema.

Keywords: atopic dermatitis; phototherapy; UV-free; visible light

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0781.2005.00141.x

Affiliations: 1: Environmental Health Research Institute at the Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf GmbH, Germany, 2: Department of Dermatology, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, and 3: OptoMed Group, Wildau/Berlin, Germany

Publication date: 2005-04-01