ABSTRACT
The authors present a new classification for photodermatosis in five groups: 1. Primary toxic photodermatosis that means lesions produced in all human beings by non-ionized radiation. 2. Photodermatosis induced by drugs, with two subgroups--phototoxic and photoalergic--according to the mechanism of action of the drug. 3. Idiopathic photodermatosis in which the photonic effects are known but the chromophores are unknown; four conditions are included here polymorphous actinic eruption, solar urticaria, actinic reticuloid and hidroa vacciniforme. 4. Miscelanea group which includes several conditions of unknown mechanism which are not included in the other groups, such as: actinic cheilitis, actinic poikiloderma, actinic ceratoses, epitheliomas, melanomas and others. 5. Conditions precipitated or aggravated by solar radiation with two sub-groups: hereditary (xeroderma pigmentosum, Hartnup's syndrome and other) and acquired (lupus erythematosus, pellagra and other). In group 1, the authors propose the designation of actinic elastotic dermatosis to unify different conditions described by several authors such as: diffuse elastosis, citrein skin, cutis rhomboidalis, and others.
