Allergic contact dermatitis to 5-aminolaevulinic acid methylester but not to 5-aminolaevulinic acid after photodynamic therapy.
We report a patient with an allergy induced by photodynamic therapy (PDT) following simultaneous treatment with both 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) and ALA methylester (ALA-ME). After several PDT treatments the patient presented with acute eczema of the treated areas and itch and hyper-reactivity of the untreated skin. Patch testing demonstrated a strong +++ reaction to ALA-ME only, indicating that derivatives common to ALA and ALA-ME were not involved. This is the first case of allergy to ALA-ME.
Wulf
H C
HC
Department of Dermatology, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, DK 2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark. hcw01@bbh.hosp.dk
Philipsen
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000209:etiology*; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010328:Patch Tests / Q000379:methods; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*
C114767:delta-aminolevulinic acid methyl ester; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid