PUVAtherapy for psoriasis and other skin diseases an initial report.

Fifty-two patients with severe and resistant psoriasis were treated with 8-methoxypsoralen followed by high intensity long wave ultraviolet light over a 12-month period at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. One hundred per cent clearing of the plaques of psoriasis was obtained with an average dose of energy of 53.5 joules in 43 (96 per cent) of 45 patients and the other two materially improved. Seven are still in the clearing phase. Early side effects were uncommon. There was no clinically significant change in laboratory or ophthalmological findings. Of the nine patients who complained of arthritis, four had radiological evidence and one showed radiological improvement after PUVA. In this study all seven patients who had been using large doses of topically applied steroid cream (up to 200 g Dermovate per week for two years) did not show adrenal suppression.