Ultraviolet-free phototherapy

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. Copyright © Blackwell Munksgaard 2005.