title: Perspectives of the antipsoriatic heliotherapy in Poland.
abstract: Statistical analysis of the daily course of exposures to TL-01 tube radiation for 93 psoriatic patients from the Medical University of Łódź during 20-day phototherapy shows that the dose of 1 J/cm(2) represents a unit of single exposure necessary for psoriasis healing. This value is converted to the antipsoriatic effective dose of 317.9 J/m(2) using the TL-01 lamp irradiance spectrum and the antipsoriatic action spectrum. It is proposed that the daily exposure of 317.9 J/m(2) serves as the standard antipsoriatic dose (SAPD) providing a link between the cabinet and the out-door exposures and it could be used for planning heliotherapy in Poland. A model is proposed to calculate ambient antipsoriatic doses for 3 h exposures around the local noon (9 am-12 am GMT) based on satellite measurements of ozone and cloud characteristics. The model constants are determined by a comparison with pertaining antipsoriatic doses measured by the Brewer spectrophotometer in central Poland. It is found that 3 h exposures to solar radiation in the period 15 May-15 September provides the mean (2005-2013) doses in the range 2.7-3.1 SAPD over Poland. Thus, heliotherapy could be treated as an alternative to the cabinet phototherapy for almost 4 months. It seems that the most effective site for antipsoriatic heliotherapy is the south/east part of Poland (the Bieszczady Mountains). The heliotherapy could be carried out in existing national health centers equipped with the standard easy-to-use biometers for on-line monitoring of UV level and controlling duration of sunbathing to avoid erythema risks. It is even possible to control the antipsoriatic heliotherapy by a patient himself, using low-cost hand-held instruments measuring UV index.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: jkrzys@igf.edu.pl.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Krzyścin
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narbutt
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lesiak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jarosławski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Sobolewski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rajewska-Więch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szkop
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wink
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Czerwińska
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004890:Erythema / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006370:Heliotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010126:Ozone / Q000032:analysis; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011044:Poland; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000628:therapy*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D010126:Ozone
keywords: Climatology; Heliotherapy; Observations versus model; Psoriasis; UV radiation