title: Effectiveness of medium-dose ultraviolet A1 phototherapy in localized scleroderma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, ultraviolet (UV) A1 phototherapy has been suggested as an effective treatment for localized scleroderma (LS); however, the optimal dose of UVA1 still has not been determined.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of medium-dose (30 J/cm(2) ) UVA1 phototherapy and to show that 13MHz ultrasound is a valuable tool for assessing the results of UVA1 phototherapy in LS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five patients with LS were treated with medium-dose (30J/cm(2) ) UVA1. In total, 30-45 treatments and 900-1350J/cm(2) cumulative UVA1 doses were evaluated by clinical scoring in all patients. In 14 patients, skin thickness was also determined by 13MHz ultrasound examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all patients, medium-dose UVA1 therapy softened sclerotic plaques, and marked clinical improvement was observed in 29 of 35 (82. 85%) patients. Ultrasound measurements showed that skin thickness was significantly reduced. No side effects were observed during or after treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medium-dose UVA1 phototherapy is a highly effective, safe, and well-tolerated therapeutic modality for treatment of all types of LS. A 13MHz ultrasound probe may be used for evaluating UVA1 phototherapy results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Bezmialem Vakif University, Faculty of Medicine Neoson Imaging Center, Radiology Department of Pathology, Vakif Gureba Teaching and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. ozlemsu@atlas.net.tr
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Nahide
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Onsun
authors.forename: Hulya Kapran
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Onay
authors.forename: Yeliz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Erdemoglu
authors.forename: Dilek Biyik
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Ozkaya
authors.forename: Filiz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cebeci
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Somay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012594:Scleroderma, Localized / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014467:Ultraviolet Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult