Evaluation of 25 years of phototherapy for treating psoriasis at a teaching hospital in southern Spain

AbstractBACKGROUND:For years, phototherapy has been used in a wide range of skin diseases, which is unsurprising as skin is the anatomical feature most directly exposed to light, especially in psoriasis. Although the role of light therapy has been replaced by different therapeutic modalities in recent years, this treatment is now an established option for many skin diseases.OBJECTIVES:The aim was to characterize the patient population thathad received the aforementioned treatment in the Virgen Macarena Health Area in Seville (Spain) between June 1985 and October 2011.METHODS:We have designed a descriptive study with a univariate analysis covering 443 treatments with light therapy, all administered to the same number of patients suffering from psoriasis.RESULTS:79.15% of patients were discharged due to improvement or healing, while the 20.85% were discharged due to other reasons. The average total accumulative dose was 131.53 J/cm2. We do not detected an increase in proportion in patients for develop NMSK after light therapy treatment.CONCLUSIONS:We consider that phototherapy is still an effective and efficient treatment that will have to be reconsidered in the current macroeconomic context.

Hipotricosis tipo Marie-Unna asociada a esclerodactilia: estudio con microanálisis de rayos X / Hypotrichosis type Marie-Unna associated to sclerodactily: study with X-ray microanalysis

Las hipotricosis hereditarias, tanto cicatriciales como no cicatriciales, son infrecuentes, observándose generalmente de forma aislada o familiar en algunos países. La reciente publicación de una familia paquistaní con hipotricosis generalizada, donde se ha encontrado el gen responsable en el cromosoma 8p 12, y su impacto social, motivó que revisáramos las hipotricosis congénitas estudiadas en nuestra Unidad de Tricología. Sólo tuvimos ocasión de diagnosticar, tratar y seguir un caso de hipotricosis tipo Marie Unna en el que se asociaba esclerosis de cuero cabelludo, esclerodactilia y alteraciones ungueales del tipo onicodistrofia y onicólisis. Realizamos estudios tricológicos incluyendo microanálisis de rayos X. Los resultados indicaron que se trataba de una hipotricosiscicatricial tipo Marie Unna, que se asociaba a zonas de esclerosis en cuero cabelludo y manos. Los estudios con microscopio óptico y electrónico de barrido de la distrofia pilosa pueden considerarse típicos. Los picos elevados de azufre y potasio observados en el microanálisis son de difícil interpretación