Behaviour therapy in dermatological practice

Behaviour therapy provides important psychotherapeutic possibilities for the treatment of dermatological disorders. Compulsive scratching and trichotillomania can be treated by aversive conditioning, or by the token economy technique. The treatment of blushing is described: assertive training is useful for patients with symptomatic erythema and erythrophobia. Hyperhidrosis can be treated by assertive training and systematic desensitization.     

Experience in using laser photophoresis in dermatological practice

A rationale is given for the use of a new physiotherapeutic method for the treatment of dermatologic patients: laser photophoresis. Experiments have demonstrated a better diffusion of the drug during photophoresis than through semipermeable membranes. The method has been employed in therapy of 27 patients with chronic eczemas with ortafen, a new Soviet anti-inflammatory nonsteroid drug.     

Levamisole therapy under different dermatological indications]

More than 180 patients were treated for immunostimulation with levamisole within three and a half years. The results were statistically evaluated in 128 subjects. A highly significant improvement was noted in 44 patients suffering from recurrent herpes simplex labialis, facialis and oralis. 14 patients with recurrent herpes genitalis, lumbalis and glutaealis only experienced a reduction of the recurrence frequency. Aphthae in 16 subjects became less frequent and pain was reduced. Levamisole should be tried in recalcitrant chronic candidoses and bacterial infections not responding to specific antibiotic treatment. Slight side effects are relatively frequent, but severe ones are only rarely observed.     

Experience with photodynamic therapy in Hailey-Hailey disease

Hailey-Hailey disease (HHD) is a rare genodermatosis that is often difficult to treat. This paper reports three patients with HHD treated with one session of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using topical methyl aminolevulinic acid applied under occlusion for 3 hours and red light at 37 J/cm2 for 7.5 minutes. Our results are not successful: all of the patients suffered discomfort during the 3-4 weeks following PDT and only one patient experienced clinical improvement. None of the patients would like to repeat the treatment. PDT is at an exploratory stage; further studies are necessary to determine whether PDT is useful in the treatment of HHD.     

Experience with multidrug therapy in paucibacillary leprosy

Eighty paucibacillary leprosy cases were randomly put on two different multidrug regimens for 6 months followed by dapsone monotherapy. Regimen I was according to WHO (1982) recommendations consisting of Dapsone and six once a month rifampicin. In regimen II in addition to above two constituents, clofazimine was added 100 mg on alternate days. Dapsone thereafter was continued in both the regimens upto one year. The efficacy, acceptability and side effects of multidrug regimens were observed for a period of one year. Histopathological assessment was done on completion of multidrug therapy in all cases. A comparative evaluation of effect of two multidrug regimens in paucibacillary leprosy patients is reported. Addition of clofazimine over WHO (1982) recommended regimen appears to have no added benefit. The duration of WHO (1982) recommended regimens was found to be inadequate in many cases.