High-dose UVA1 therapy in the treatment of patients with atopic dermatitis.

Abstract

Besides glucocorticosteroids, there is currently no known effective therapy for patients with acute atopic dermatitis. The therapeutic effectiveness of high-dose UVA1 irradiation in the management of patients with acute exacerbation of atopic dermatitis was examined. Patients in the high-dose UVA1 group (n = 15) were irradiated with 130 joules/cm2 UVA1; the control group (n = 10) was treated with UVA-UVB therapy in a minimal erythema dose-dependent manner (total number of treatments 15). High-dose UVA1 irradiation was found to induce a significant clinical improvement of atopic dermatitis (p less than 0.001). In comparison with UVA-UVB therapy, significant differences in favor of high-dose UVA1 were observed (p less than 0.01). High-dose UVA1, but not UVA-UVB treatment, significantly reduced the elevated serum level of eosinophil cationic protein in patients with atopic dermatitis (p less than 0.003). These studies indicate that high-dose UVA1 irradiation may represent a novel phototherapeutic modality for the treatment of patients with an acute exacerbation of atopic dermatitis.