title: 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.
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Institute, Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf GmbH, Germany. krutmann@rz.uni-duesseldorf.de
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krutmann
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Medve-Koenigs
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruzicka
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ranft
authors.forename: Jan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wilkens
mesh_terms: 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