Kroft EBM et al. – UVA-1 is an effective treatment for sclerodermic skin diseases with a long period of remission and clinical improvement even in patients with a long history of a sclerotic skin disease. Methods
Study to determine the effectiveness of UVA-1 phototherapy and the duration of remission in sclerodermic skin diseases
10 pts with various sclerodermic skin diseases were treated with UVA-1 phototherapy
Hardness of the skin was measured with durometer by one investigator at 10 locations
Each spot was measured 3 times, and the average was taken
Durometer scores were recorded weekly until the final treatment date and 4 wks after treatment
Long-term effects were evaluated up to 29-46 mos
Results
Pts were treated with UVA-1 in a cumulative dose of 1286 ± 58.8 (SEM) J/cm2 , divided over 5 times a wk for 4 wks
In all pts studied, the sclerotic skin lesions were markedly softer after UVA-1 treatment
All durometer scores improved during the first 3 wks of treatment and borderline significant during the last wk
There was no improvement between the end of UVA-1 phototherapy and 1 month after ending the therapy
All pts noted improvement of the semiquantitative clinical score during treatment
Clinical improvement was associated with improvement of the durometer score
With a f/u until 46 mos, the remission period was stable up to 26 mos in 6 pts
The duration of sclerodermic skin diseases before start of treatment did not influence improvement in the clinical or durometer score
One patient had an acute side effect of minimal erythema
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