Granuloma Annulare Can it be treated with Narrow Band UVB Therapy?

Chris Cane — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:29:59 +0000

Today I received a phone call from a woman in Florida with granuloma annulare. Her dermatologist has recommended that she try UVB Narrow Band as a potential treatment. She had PUVA treatment in the mid nineties with some success but the return to PUVA with its inherent risks is a route she would prefer not to take.

I decided to do some web surfing and have learned that she might be on the right track.

Elsewhere in this blog at http://www.uvbnarrowband.com/index.php/2010/01/uva1-phototherapy-is-it-effective I did write about UVA-1 and its apparent success with Granuloma Annulare.

First a little reading about the disease.

A little reading from several sites provided this information.
For some images of the disease; See http://tinyurl.com/granuloma-annulare

Overview

Granuloma annulare is a long-term (chronic) skin disease consisting of a rash with reddish bumps arranged in a circle or ring.

Causes
Granuloma annulare most often affects children and young adults. It is slightly more common in girls. The condition is usually seen in otherwise healthy people. Occasionally, it may be associated with diabetes or thyroid disease. Its cause is unknown.

Symptoms
Granuloma annulare usually causes no other symptoms, but the rash may be slightly itchy. Patients usually notice a ring of small, firm bumps (papules) over the backs of the forearms, hands, or feet. Occasionally, multiple rings may be found. Rarely, granuloma annulare may appear as a firm nodule under the skin of the arms or legs.

Treatment
I did find an article at http://tinyurl.com/4phduov discussing the use of UVB Narrow Band with Granuloma Annulare and this study concluded that:

“Thereafter, no recurrences were observed during maintenance therapy with Narrow-band UVB. Narrow-band UVB phototherapy is easy to use, since, in contrast to PUVA, there is no need for the intake of photosensitizers and for photoprotection of skin and eyes on treatment days.”

The challenge at this moment is to find more information about the treatment of Granuloma Annulare using ultraviolet technology. I did find that PUVA has been used with some success and typically we see that eventually when dermatologists use UVB NB (TL-01) UVB 311 technology that it provides similar or better efficacy than PUVA with much lower risk of skin cancers and liver damage.

I welcome any comments from readers with experience in this area.

Links

Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/granuloma-annulare/DS00793
Medline: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000833.htm
WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/granuloma-annulare
Google Health: https://health.google.com/health/ref/Granuloma+annulare

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UVA1 Phototherapy – Is it effective?

Chris Cane — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:01:16 +0000

The article concludes “Besides topical and systemic therapy, UVA1 radiation is a good option of treatment in various skin diseases. It is one of the first-line treatments for several sclerotic diseases and it often improves pruritus considerably.”

I came across this study during an internet search when a customer called me about the use of UVA1. I have to admit I was surprise by the fact that the use of UVA1 has shown some good results with atopic eczema, scleroderma and other challenges.

The authors say

“Good therapeutic effects of UVA1 therapy were shown in patients with atopic eczema, scleroderma, lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, keratosis lichenoides chronica, prurigo nodularis and with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Positive effects in some patients were seen in the urticaria pigmentosa and granuloma annulare group, no change to slight improvement was seen in most of the patients with rare, sclerosing skin diseases and no effect was seen in the chronic urticaria group.”

The study is titled “Efficacy of UVA1 phototherapy in 230 patients with various skin diseases” and is written by S. Rombold, K. Lobisch, K. Katzer, T. C. Grazziotin, J. Ring & B. Eberlein of the Department of Dermatology and Allergy Biederstein, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

To see the entire article << CLICK HERE FOR PDF >>

UVA1 id long wavelength UV in the 340 nm to 400 nm range. UVA1 therapy has been available since the early eighties in Europe and we’re slowly catching up here in the USA. UVA1 phototherapy can be effective in the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases such as exacerbated atopic eczema, localized scleroderma and granuloma annulare.

To see the entire article << CLICK HERE FOR PDF >>

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The World of UV Phototherapy by Chris Cane » granuloma annulare

Granuloma Annulare Can it be treated with Narrow Band UVB Therapy?

UVA1 Phototherapy – Is it effective?