UROCANIC ACID ISOMERS AND PHOTOSENSITIVITY IN HEALTHY-CHILDREN

Episodes of intense sun exposure, particularly in childhood, seem to c arry a risk for the development of malignant melanoma in later life. H owever, little is known about photosensitivity and natural photoprotec tion in children. In adult subjects, photoprotection is provided mainl y by the epidermal content of melanin and the thickness of the stratum corneum, while the amount of urocanic acid (UCA), a major ultraviolet -absorbing component of the stratum corneum, is not thought to contrib ute significantly to photoprotection. The minimal erythema dose (MED) was determined in 22 healthy children aged 6-13 years and in 36 health y adults (mean age 28.1 years). Pigmentation was measured at six body sites by use of reflectance spectroscopy and the concentration of UCA isomers was measured in a sun-exposed area (upper back) and in unexpos ed buttock skin. No significant differences between children and adult s were found, either in pigmentation at exposed and unexposed body sit es, or in MED. The concentration of total UCA was significantly higher in the children than in the adults on the buttock (median 22.2 vs. 13 .6 nmol/cm(2)), but not on the back. On exposed back skin, the childre n had a significantly higher percentage of cis-UCA than the adults (me dian 60.1 vs, 28.3%), while no difference was found on the buttock. In both groups, a significant correlation was found between pigmentation and MED (children: Spearman correlation coefficient 0.58, P = 0.006; adults: Spearman correlation coefficient 0.69, P < 0.0001), indicating that pigmentation is of major importance in determining photosensitiv ity in children as well as in adults, The concentration of total UCA d id not correlate with the MED in either group.