ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Actinic prurigo is a photodermatitis in which UV light is implicated by an unknown mechanism. METHODS: Skin biopsies of 19 patients with actinic prurigo and 11 controls were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: In actinic prurigo patients, there was a significant increase in the number of CD3, CD4, CD8, CD45RA, CD45RO, and CD45RB lymphocytes and Langerhans cells, as well as in the level of human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) expression and cell adhesion molecules lymphocyte functional antigen-1 (LFA-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1). Actinic prurigo patients were treated with cyclosporin A (CsA), and a final skin biopsy was taken after 6 months of treatment. All the cell populations and markers studied, except for the CD4 lymphocytes, Langerhans cells, and HLA-DR expression, returned to normal levels. CONCLUSIONS: CsA was found to be effective in relieving the clinical symptoms of actinic prurigo.
