STANDARDIZED ULTRAVIOLET-A EXPOSURE PROVOKES SKIN REACTION IN ERYTHEMATOSUS

Citation
O. Nived et al., STANDARDIZED ULTRAVIOLET-A EXPOSURE PROVOKES SKIN REACTION IN ERYTHEMATOSUS, Lupus, 2(4), 1993, pp. 247-250
Citations number
23
Categorie Soggetti
Medicine, General & Internal",Rheumatology
Journal title
LupusACNP
ISSN journal
09612033
Volume
2
Issue
4
Year of publication
1993
Pages
247 - 250
Database
ISI
SICI code
0961-2033(1993)2:4<247:SUEPSR>2.0.ZU;2-A
Abstract
The immediate, 1 day and 14 days skin reaction was determined in 23 fe male SLE patients and 23 age-matched controls after standardized expos ure to ultraviolet light of the UV-A wavelengths (320-440 nm). Eightee n of the patients and 12 of the controls were photosensitive by histor y. Eight separate sites on the buttocks were exposed to UV-A light, fo ur sites at doses between 42 and 252 kJ/m(2) and four sites with longp ass filters (320, 345, 360 and 375 nm). The reactions on test sites we re graded by two independent observers unaware of given doses or filte r location. All patients and controls reacted with immediate erythema irrespectively of the presence or absence of photosensitivity. After 1 day, 39% of controls and 78% of patients had erythema and the reactio ns were more pronounced to longwave UV-A light (>320 nm) in the patien ts (P < 0.001). After 14 days, six patients, but no control, had persi stent erythema (P = 0.04). Interestingly, three of the four patients w ithout anamnestic photosensitivity did not react on days 1 or 14, whil e the pattern seen in the controls on day 1 was totally unpredictable with regard to reported photosensitivity. These findings strongly sugg est that a considerable proportion of SLE patients show pathological s kin reactions to physiological doses of longwave UV-A and not only the far more studied shortwave UV-B (290-320 nm). The responsible chromat ophore for the UV-A reaction is not known.