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| |  New Laser Treatment For Psoriasis LONDON, ENGLAND -- November 21, 1997 -- In a Research Letter in this week's The Lancet, by Dr. Béla Bónis and colleagues from Hungary, a comparison is made of ultraviolet-light therapy with laser therapy for psoriasis -- a common skin disorder characterised by red scaly patches of skin. Six patients with chronic psoriasis received treatment with 311 nm ultraviolet B (UVB) light five times a week with increasing doses of energy each time. A target patch of skin was covered during this course of treatment. A new laser treatment, 308 nm xenon chloride laser, was then applied to the target patch of skin. Fewer treatments were required to achieve clearance of psoriasis with laser therapy than with the UVB treatment (8.33 versus 30.1). In addition, the total dose of energy during laser treatment was significantly lower than that required with UVB treatment (4.81 versus 31.1 J/cm3). Side-effects, especially the risk of developing skin cancer, increase with the cumulative ultraviolet dose during a person's life. The investigators suggest that because the cumulative dose needed for healing was 6.47 times less with laser therapy than with UVB therapy, laser treatment involves a lower risk if carcinogenesis and other side-effects and is more effective.
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