The effects of narrow-band ultraviolet B on the expression of the CC subfamily of chemokines and its efficacy in treating patients with atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) in the treatment of the patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and the effects of NB-UVB on the expression of the CC subfamily of chemokines in AD patients. Methods Fifty-five AD patients were treated with NB-UVB with a starting dose of 50％ of the minimal erythma dose.ELISA was used to measure the serum levels of thymus and activation-regulated chemokine ( TARC),cutaneous T cell-attracting chemokine ( CTACK),macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) and eotaxin in all of the patients before and after treatment,and the clinical efficacy was evaluated.The scores on an atopic dermatitis index (SCORAD) and a visual analogue scale were used for the clinical evaluation.Thirty healthy persons were recruited and served as normal controls. Results The serum levels of TARC,CTACK and MDC were significantly higher in patients with AD than in the normal controls.There was no significant difference between the patients and controls with regard to the average serum level of eotaxin.After treatment with NB-UVB,the serum levels of TARC,CTACK and MDC,but not eotaxin,significantly decreased in the patients.The total clinical effectiveness rate was 76.36％,and the accumulated SCORAD points and VAS scores decreased significantly. Conclusions NB-UVB is able to down-regulate significantly the serum levels of TARC,CTACK and MDC.It can affect immune function and regulate any imbalance of Th1/Th2 cells.This might be one of the mechanisms of NB-UVB treatment for AD.The clinical data demonstrate that NB-UVB is a safe and effective treatment for AD. Key words: Dermatitis, atopic ; Ultraviolet therapy; Chemotactic factors