To the Editor: We report the case of an 80-yearold man with localized scleroderma, treated successfully with PUVA therapy. The patient came to our office with progressive hardening of his abdominal skin. Clinical examination (Fig. 1) showed a large (25 cm in diameter) slightly erythematous plaque that could not be pinched and made it difficult for the patient to bend down. The lesion margins we...

Ultrastructural studies were conducted in order to determine morphologic and functional differences in melanocytes and melanosomes in PUVA lentigines and solar lentigines, and light-protected buttock skin. Compared to melanocytes in solar lentigines from 7 subjects and light-protected buttock skin from 5 subjects (none of these subjects had received UV radiation therapy), melanocytes in PUVA le...

Despite, the fact that palmoplantar pustulosis is still widely known by this name, it is currently regarded as a disease distinct from psoriasis. The real cause is still unknown. Septic foci have been blamed, but their removal may not cure eruptions. A case series of de novo occurrence of palmoplantar pustulosis induced by tumor necrosis factor–alpha antagonist therapy has been reported. It has...

Introduction: Vitiligo is a specific, common, often heritable acquired disorder characterized by well-circumscribed milky white cutaneous macules and patches devoid of identifiable melanocyte. Treatment vitiligo, though quite frustrating, includes repigmentation therapies like Topical glucocorticoids, calcipotrieinene, PUVA (Psoralen + Ultraviolet Light A). The combination calcipotriol proves e...

BACKGROUND Psoriasis is difficult at times to treat and treatment failures are not uncommon regardless of approach. With the advent of expensive biologic therapies for psoriasis there is increasing discussion on the cost efficacy of a given systemic or biologic agent. An alternative and overlooked aspect of cost efficacy is the cost that accrues from treatment failures. METHODS We review the ...

BACKGROUND Multimodality biological response-modifier therapy that includes photopheresis, interferon, and bexarotene is the standard of care in our institution for advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with peripheral blood involvement. We added psoralen plus long-wave UV-A (PUVA) to this regimen in 5 patients with Sézary syndrome. OBSERVATIONS All patients responded with decreased Sézary count...

BACKGROUND Alopecia areata (AA) is believed to be an organ-specific autoimmune disease in which a mononuclear cell infiltrate develops in and around anagen hair follicles. There is no definitive therapy for AA. OBJECTIVE We sought to determine whether the combination therapy of cyclosporine and psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) could be an effective treatment for severe AA. METHODS A total...

BACKGROUND/METHODS The treatment of psoriasis with high-dose exposure to oral psoralen and ultraviolet-A light (i.e., PUVA) substantially increases the risk of cutaneous squamous cell cancer, but not of basal cell cancer, within a decade of beginning treatment. To assess the persistence of cancer risk among individuals treated with PUVA, including those who discontinued therapy long ago and tho...

BACKGROUND Psoralen ultraviolet A (PUVA) is a widely used first-line therapy for treatment of early cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Narrow band UVB (UVB-NB) (311 nm) has been recently introduced as another effective line of treatment. It is postulated that the efficacy of UVB-NB could be enhanced by addition of psoralen. AIM The aim of the present work was to compare the clinical and histopatholog...