Effective treatment with balneophototherapy and narrowband UVB monotherapy reduces skin homing Th17/Tc17 and Th22/Tc22 effector cells in peripheral blood in patients with psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease of the skin that is characterized by epidermal thickening and infiltration of immune cells into the skin. It is a T cell mediated disease with a mixed T helper (Th)1/Th17 phenotype [1]. IL-17 is the key mediator of psoriatic inflammation and drives the production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines by keratinocytes, and consequently activates leukocytes and recruits them into the skin [2]. Limited data exists regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying the efficacy of narrow-band (NB)-UVB phototherapy combined with balneotherapy (bathing in geothermal seawater, the Blue Lagoon of Iceland) in psoriasis but it has been previously shown to have beneficial therapeutic effects on psoriasis [3,4].

Source: Journal of Dermatological Science - October 14, 2019 Category: Dermatology Authors: Jenna Huld Eysteinsd óttir, Hildur Sigurgrímsdóttir, Helga Kristín Einarsdóttir, Jona Freysdottir, Bjarni A. Agnarsson, Jón Hjaltalín Ólafsson, Bárður Sigurgeirsson, Björn Rúnar Lúðvíksson Source Type: research