People are spending $35 billion in the US each year to treat psoriasis. This review notes that LED phototherapy may represent “a cost-effective, efficacious, safe and portable treatment modality.” They reviewed almost 8000 articles and rated the overall effectiveness of Blue LED and Red and Infrared light as strong, giving it a B grade. The right light can be safe, effective and economical. Great reasons to shine with light.
Form
at: Abstract
J Drugs Dermatol. 2017 May 1;16(5):482-488.
A Systematic Review of Light Emitting Diode (LED) Phototherapy for Treatment of Psoriasis: An Emerging Therapeutic Modality.
Ho D, Koo E, Mamalis A, Jagdeo J.
Abstract
Background: Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition. The economic burden of psoriasis is approximately $35.2 billion in the United States per year, and treatment costs are increasing at a higher rate than general inflation. Light emitting diode (LED) phototherapy may represent a cost-effective, efficacious, safe, and portable treatment modality for psoriasis.
Objective: The goal of our manuscript is to review the published literature and provide evidence-based recommendations on LED phototherapy for the treatment of psoriasis.
Methods & Materials: A search of the databases Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CINAHL was performed on April 5, 2016. Key search terms were related to psoriasis and LED-based therapies.
Results: A total of 7,793 articles were generated from the initial search and 5 original articles met inclusion criteria for our review. Grade of recommendation: B for LED-blue light. Grade of recommendation: C for LED-ultraviolet B, LED-red light, and combination LED-near-infrared and LED-red light.
Conclusion: We envision further characterizing the effects of LED phototherapy to treat psoriasis in patients may increase adoption of LED-based modalities and provide clinicians and patients with new therapeutic options that balance safety, efficacy, and cost.
J Drugs Dermatol. 2017;16(5):482-488.
PMID: 28628685