[Extracorporeal photopheresis in dermatology].

Guidelines on the use of extracorporeal photopheresis

BACKGROUND After the first investigational study on the use of extracorporeal photopheresis for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma was published in 1983 with its subsequent recognition by the FDA for its refractory forms, the technology has shown significant promise in the treatment of other severe and refractory conditions in a multi-disciplinary setting. Among the major studied condit...

Tacrolimus ointment in the treatment of chronic cutaneous graft-vs-host disease: a case series of 18 patients.

BACKGROUND Tacrolimus (formerly FK 506) is an immunosuppressive drug that works by inhibiting calcineurin, a calcium-dependent protein phosphatase required for immune function. Tacrolimus has been shown to be effective topically in atopic dermatitis and systemically in psoriasis and graft-vs-host disease (GVHD). However, its efficacy in treating cutaneous GVHD when applied topically has not bee...

Extracorporeal photopheresis in Sézary syndrome. No significant effect in the survival of 44 patients with a peripheral blood T-cell clone.

BACKGROUND Several retrospective studies have claimed that extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) prolongs survival in patients with erythrodermic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. In a retrospective study of 44 patients with Sézary syndrome, we compared survival in patients treated with ECP with that of patients treated conventionally at the same institute. All patients had genotypic evidence of a periph...

Short-time extracorporeal photochemotherapy in the treatment of drug-resistant autoimmune bullous diseases.

BACKGROUND Bullous pemphigoid (BP) and pemphigus vulgaris (PV) are potentially severe diseases. In drug-resistant PV and pemphigus foliaceus, long-term adjuvant treatment with extracorporeal photochemotherapy (photopheresis, ECP) has been reported to induce remission. Only limited numbers of patients have been reported so far. No information about the effectiveness in drug-resistant BP is avail...

Extracorporeal Photopheresis as a Treatment of Graft-versus-Host Disease, Autoimmune Disease and Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma