Phototherapy has immunosuppressive effect. Both ultraviolet (UV) and visible light are widely used for the therapy of various inflammatory skin diseases. Phototherapy, using a combination of UV-A (25%), UV-B (5%) and visible light (70%), may represent a therapeutic alternative in patients with allergic rhinitis.79 patients were randomly assigned to receive:
- a combination of UV-A (25%), UV-B (5%) and visible light (70%), in the phototherapy group
- low-intensity visible light, in the control group
The efficacy of treatment was assessed by symptom score before treatment and 1 month after the end of treatment.
Nasal scores decreased in both groups but the decrease was highly significant in the phototherapy group.
The study authors concluded that phototherapy may be an effective modality in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.
In the meantime, before the beneficial effects of phototherapy are confirmed by other studies, you can consider some of the more conventional treatment options for allergic rhinitis shown in the diagram below:
Treatment Options for Allergic Rhinitis (AR) and Non-Allergic Rhinitis (NAR) (click to enlarge the image).
References:
Phototherapy for Allergic Rhinitis: A Prospective, Randomized, Single-blind, Placebo-controlled Study. Cemal Cingi, MD; Hamdi Cakli, MD; Aytekin Yaz, MD; Murat Songu, MD; Cengiz Bal, MD. Ther Adv Resp Dis. 2010;4(4):209-213 and Medscape.
Image source: Wikipedia, a Creative Commons license.
Nasal scores decreased in both groups but the decrease was highly significant in the phototherapy group.
The study authors concluded that phototherapy may be an effective modality in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.
In the meantime, before the beneficial effects of phototherapy are confirmed by other studies, you can consider some of the more conventional treatment options for allergic rhinitis shown in the diagram below:
Treatment Options for Allergic Rhinitis (AR) and Non-Allergic Rhinitis (NAR) (click to enlarge the image).
References:
Phototherapy for Allergic Rhinitis: A Prospective, Randomized, Single-blind, Placebo-controlled Study. Cemal Cingi, MD; Hamdi Cakli, MD; Aytekin Yaz, MD; Murat Songu, MD; Cengiz Bal, MD. Ther Adv Resp Dis. 2010;4(4):209-213 and Medscape.
Rhinophototherapy: gimmick or an emerging treatment option for allergic rhinitis? Rhinology. 2011 15 1;49(5):499-506.
Image source: Wikipedia, a Creative Commons license.
No comments:
Post a Comment