title: [Balneophotochemotherapy of lichen ruber. Personal results and comparison with photochemotherapy modalities employed up to now].
abstract: Twelve patients with extensive lichen planus, resistant to different regimes of prior external and internal therapy, were treated with PUVA-bath photochemotherapy (psoralen bath followed by UVA irradiation) using bath water containing 0.5 mg/L of 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP). In 11 of the 12 patients, the skin lesions showed a significant improvement or even complete remission within six weeks of treatment. In one patient, only limited clinical improvement could be achieved. A mean of 19.1 (SD +/- 3.6) PUVA-bath treatments were carried out. The mean cumulative UVA-dose given until clearance of the lichen planus was 16.7 (SD +/- 4.8) J/cm2. No side effects were seen except an increased phototoxic reaction in two patients manifested as slight erythema. The results of this trial show, that PUVA-bath photochemotherapy with 8-MOP is an effective therapeutic alternative to all other known therapies in the treatment of extensive, exanthematic and also hypertrophic-hyperkeratotic lichen planus. In comparison to oral PUVA therapy and PUVA-bath therapy using 4,s',8-trimethoxypsoralen, balneophotochemotherapy with 8-MOP shows an excellent efficiency-side effect correlation. The clearance of the refractive skin lesions by balneophotochemotherapy with 8-MOP demonstrates the superiority of this therapy over all other common therapeutic modalities used for lichen planus.
authors.affiliation: Dermatologische Klinik, Ruhr-Universitt, Bochum.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: von Kobyletzki
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gruss
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Altmeyer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kerscher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001452:Balneology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008010:Lichen Planus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008730:Methoxsalen / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D011701:PUVA Therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D008730:Methoxsalen