Posts Tagged ‘National Biological Corp’
UVB Phototherapy in the Home - Effective ?
It’s great to have an independent source ratify what we’ve known for years. UV Phototherapy at home is safe, well tolerated and here in the USA, very cost effective for the patient and the insurance company that sometimes is paying the bill.
Since the publishing of the article on May 7th by the British Medical Journal on the effectiveness of UVB Treatment in the home, the Internet has been buzzing with articles written by a host of reviewers on the subject. Most are simply referring to the original article but many are commenting. Most if not all of the postings I’ve seen on various blogs and publications show strong support for the use of UVB Narrowband Therapy in the home.
This of course is like music to my ears. Many of you know that I run a business offering UV Phototherapy Products for use in the home. See www.HomePhotoTherapy.com. So of course I’m a little biased.
The actual heading of the article is “Home versus outpatient ultraviolet B phototherapy for mild to severe psoriasis: pragmatic multicentre randomised controlled non-inferiority trial (PLUTO study)”
The finding by the researchers who followed 196 patients was “Ultraviolet B phototherapy administered at home is equally safe and equally effective, both clinically and for quality of life, as ultraviolet B phototherapy administered in an outpatient setting. Furthermore, ultraviolet B phototherapy at home resulted in a lower burden of treatment and led to greater patients’ satisfaction. “
This statement flies in the face of many dermatologists that say that they believe that treatment at home is the wrong approach because they believe that patients will not be compliant at home. It’s interesting to note that many of the derms who make such ridiculous statements have phototherapy systems in their offices or clinic and they draw some of their income for the sale of time in their own phototherapy systems. I guess it shows that even doctors like to make a dollar.
Treatment at home is ultimately much less expensive to the patient and the insurance company than in-clinic treatment. Typical home equipment can range from $600.00 to $7000.00 with most folks spending perhaps $2500.00 on a home system. In clinic rates can vary from a low of $25.00 to a high of $90.00 PER TREATMENT. I we take an average of let’s say $40.00/treatment with three treatments a week then that’s $120.00/week and in 20 weeks ($2400.00), the typical home system would be paid for. That does not include the costs of parking, car mileage, time of work.
Visit www.HomePhotoTherapy.com to see some home systems. Remember most folks over a lifetime require treatment sometimes several times a year, perhaps for a lifetime.
The absolute best way to have UV Treatment is in the home.
Narrow-band UVB in the treatment of early stage mycosis fungoides: report of 16 patients.
Authors: Ghodsi SZ, Hallaji Z, Balighi K, Safar F, Chams-Davatchi C.
Razi Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Although early stage mycosis fungoides (MF) has a generally good prognosis, and long-term survival rates with current therapies (UVB, photochemotherapy, topical nitrogen mustard, electron beam radiotherapy) are similar, there is concern regarding their potential side effects. It has been reported that the same effective UVB dose is safer than PUVA in terms of carcinogenicity, and that it produces fewer side effects. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of narrow-band UVB in the treatment of early stage MF. Sixteen patients (seven males, nine females; mean age, 40 years) with early stage MF received TL-01 phototherapy three times per week using a standard protocol. Twelve patients (75%) had complete response in a mean of 27.9 treatments, three had partial response, and one no response. Upon discontinuation of treatment, six patients with complete response relapsed in a mean time to relapse of 4.5 months. The present study indicates that narrow-band-UVB is an effective treatment modality for early stage MF.
Phototherapy with Narrowband vs Broadband UVB
Author: Berneburg M, Röcken M, Benedix F.
Department of Dermatology, Eberhard Karls University, DE-72076 Tuebingen, Germany. Mark.Berneburg@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Phototherapy with ultraviolet (UV) radiation of wavelengths between 280 and 320 nm (UVB) is a safe and effective treatment for a variety of diseases. In addition to standard broadband UVB (bUVB), narrowband phototherapy with fluorescent bulbs emitting near monochromatic UV around 311 nm (nUVB) has become an important treatment for diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and vitiligo. In addition to these indications, the number of diseases for which nUVB phototherapy is reported to be effective is continuously growing. The differential effects of nUVB phototherapy in comparison to other UV wavelengths as well as established and new indications for this treatment modality are reviewed.
<See Entire Article - Click Here>
Ask Your Doctor
- Cover Photo from Amjo’s Ask Your Doctor Flyer
As many of you know. I am a co-owner of Amjo Corp along with my wife Cheryl. We run a website dedicated to UV Phototherapy called www.HomePhotoTherapy.com. If you’d like a copy of our “Ask Your Doctor” flyer then you can fill in the form at at our main website << Click Here >> and we’ll drop one in the mail.
We provide bulk copies of this flyer to doctor’s offices when requested.
<< Download a PDF copy by clicking here >>
We have helped thousands with the purchase of UV Systems for their home. It’s our focus! We specialize in the sale of UV systems for use in the home.
Many folks prefer home treatment as it’s:
- Cost Effective
- No Travel Time
- Complete Privacy
- Ready when you are!
The Q&A from the flyer
Q. What is Phototherapy?
A. Phototherapy, sometimes referred to as light therapy is the use of specific wavelengths of light that have been shown to be very effective. This light occurs naturally as a component of sunlight and is called ultraviolet light.
Q. What is UV Light?
A. The UV Light used in phototherapy is defined as UVB (Medium Wavelength) UV light or UVA (Long Wavelength UV Light) and today UVB Narrow Band is a very narrow band of wavelengths centered around 311 nm which seem to provide the optimal treatment with very little risk of sunburn.
Q. Is UV Phototherapy Safe?
A. At the time of writing there are no documented cases of any skin cancers attributable to UVB or UVB Narrow Band light. Excessive exposure may cause problems but even this is yet to be proven. Indications are that UVB and UVB Narrow Band are very safe when used within the guidelines provided by your doctor.
Q. Which form of UV should I use, UVA, UVB or UVB Narrow Band?
A. Probably UVB Narrowband for most skin challenges. UVA requires the use of Psoralen or Methoxalen taken internally or as a cream to make your skin sensitive to the UVA light. These drugs can introduce other problems such as nausea or other discomfort. PUVA (UVA and Psoralen) requires the patient wear UV blocking eyewear in the 24 to 48 hour period following treatment as the eyes also become extremely sensitive to UV light.
Q. How does phototherapy compare to other forms of treatment.
A. Typically other treatments require prescription steroids or systemic drugs. These alternatives are costly, probably not effective for long term use and have the potential for serious side effects.
Q. Is home phototherapy expensive?
A. Today many insurance companies will cover the majority of the expense. Amjo can help you throughout the insurance claim process.
Q. What’s the warranty on Home Phototherapy Systems from Amjo?
A. The Panosol II Panels, our Hand/Foot II and of course the Foldalite III all come with a limited Three Year in-home warranty, excluding lamps which are warranted for ninety days. Our Handheld wands come with a one year limited warranty.