Synchronous Balneophototherapy for Psoriasis
Title: Synchronous balneophototherapy is effective
for the different clinical types of psoriasis.
Authors: Hollo P, et al.
Publication: J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2005
Sep;19(5):578-81.
The authors wanted to evaluate the efficacy of synchronous balneophototherapy
(combination of salt and ultraviolet B radiation therapy) for
different clinical types of psoriasis. This therapy was performed
according to the Regensburg scheme, which consisted of 35 treatment
sessions, followed by a maintenance course of 25 sessions.
The authors enrolled 373 patients and assessed their progress
with the evaluating their PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index)
scores. The authors found that:
- 70.7% of patients had improved psoriasis during the basic
treatment. The average PASI index decreased from 16.14 to 4.73.
- The maintenance course resulted in improvement of the average
PASI score from 4.58 to 4.27
When compared with types of psoriasis lesions, the authors found
that:
- Small plaque-type skin lesions responded best with a PASI
decrease of 76.1%
- Guttate lesions (those shaped like drops) had a PASI decrease
f 73.7%
- Large plaques had a PASI decrease of 67.1%
- Conflating or large lesions that melded together had a PASI
decrease of 62%.
The authors concluded that the synchronous balneophototherapy
is an effective treatment for the various lesion-types of psoriasis,
with patients suffering from small plaques having the best chance
of best improvement, and patients with guttate and large plaque
types also responding well.
Editor’s Note: PASI is a composite measure of
erythema (redness of the skin), induration (hardening of the skin),
desquamation (flaking or shedding of skin) and body surface area
affected by psoriasis. It is evaluated for the head, trunk, upper
and lower limbs. The index ranges between 0 (clear) to 72 (maximum
severity).