| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KIYOKAWA Tetsuyuki The Second Internal Medicine, Kumamoto University Medical School, Associate Prof, 医学部, 助手 (50195400)
ISHII Toshinori College of Medical Science, Kumamoto University, Associate Professor, 医療技術短期大学部, 助教授 (30093983)
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| Research Abstract |
Since the combination of oral therapy of a photoactive drug, 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), and exposure to a high-intensity, Ion, -wave ultraviolet-light system resulted in complete clearing of energized psoriasis in the 1970's, psoralen and long-wave ultraviolet li, ht (PUVA) therapy has become a routine form of dermatologic therapy for skin diseases including cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).
Edelson et al., developed the technique of extracorporeal photochemotherapy (photopheresis) in which the bully coat is treated with PUVA before it is retumed to the patient. In patients with leukemia cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, this therapy has attempted in improvement of the disease.
We have attempted to apply this therapy to certain patients with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), which is frequently encountered in the southwestern islands of Japan and the Caribbean basin, ; and characterized by the proliferation of transformed CD4 positive cells. This disease sometimes infiltrates the skin similarly to CTCL, and. patients with ATL progress to hi, h white blood cell counts, hypercalcemia, hepatosplenomec, aly, and elevated levels of lactic dehydroenase (LDH) in the serum. The Proo'nosis for 'ATL is extremely poor, and we are desperately in need of new therapies.
We have applied photopheresis to patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), a systemic disease caused by activated mononuclear cells and characterized by excessive collagen deposition in the skin and internal or, ans associated with the expression of autoimmune phenomena. We report here on ATL patients and PSS patients, evaluation, the therapeutic effects.
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