Ultraviolet-free phototherapy.
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.


OBJECTIVE
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).


CONCLUSIONS
Our studies demonstrate that visible light can be successfully used for the treatment of patients with atopic eczema.
Krutmann
Jean
J
Environmental Health Research Institute, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf GmbH, Germany. krutmann@rz.uni-duesseldorf.de
Medve-Koenigs
Kathrin
K
Ruzicka
Thomas
T
Ranft
Ulrich
U
Wilkens
Jan H
JH
D004485:Eczema / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005533:Foot Dermatoses / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006229:Hand Dermatoses / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D010789:Phototherapy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays