RESUMEN
The use of ultraviolet (UV) light, for the treatment of skin conditions, dates back to the early 1900s. It is well known that sunlight can be of therapeutic value, but it can also lead to deleterious effects such as burning and carcinogenesis. Extensive research has expanded our understanding of UV radiation and its effects in human systems and has led to the development of man-made UV sources that are more precise, safer, and more effective for the treatment of wide variety of dermatologic conditions.
Asunto(s)
Rayos Láser/historia , Fotoquimioterapia/historia , Enfermedades de la Piel/historia , Rayos Ultravioleta/historia , Terapia Ultravioleta/historia , Animales , Diseño de Equipo , Historia del Siglo XIX , Historia del Siglo XX , Historia del Siglo XXI , Humanos , Rayos Láser/efectos adversos , Seguridad del Paciente , Fotoquimioterapia/efectos adversos , Fotoquimioterapia/instrumentación , Dosis de Radiación , Exposición a la Radiación/historia , Factores de Riesgo , Enfermedades de la Piel/tratamiento farmacológico , Enfermedades de la Piel/radioterapia , Resultado del Tratamiento , Rayos Ultravioleta/efectos adversos , Terapia Ultravioleta/efectos adversos , Terapia Ultravioleta/instrumentaciónRESUMEN
Over many centuries, treatment with sunlight or "heliotherapy" was used in the treatment of skin diseases. More than 3500 years ago, ancient Egyptian and Indian healers used the ingestion of plant extracts or seeds in addition to sunlight for treating "leucoderma". Modern phototherapy began with Nobel Prize winner Niels Finsen who developed a "chemical rays" lamp with which he treated patients with skin tuberculosis. However, it took several decades until phototherapy was introduced anew into the dermatological armamentarium. It was the development of photochemotherapy (PUVA) in 1974 that marked the beginning of a huge upsurge in photodermatology. The subsequent development of high intensity UV sources with defined spectra facilitated an optimized therapy for psoriasis and led to an expansion of indications for photo(chemo)therapy also in combination with topical and systemic agents. The introduction of extracorporeal photopheresis in 1987 for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and of topical photodynamic therapy widely expanded the therapeutic possibilities in dermato-oncology.
Asunto(s)
Dermatología/historia , Fototerapia/historia , Historia del Siglo XIX , Historia del Siglo XX , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Fotoquimioterapia/historia , Enfermedades de la Piel/terapiaRESUMEN
The origins of light as a therapy in medicine and surgery are traced from antiquity to the modern day. Phototherapy began in ancient Greece, Egypt and India but disappeared for many centuries, only being rediscovered by Western civilization at the beginning of the twentieth century through the Dane, Niels Finsen, and the Germans Oscar Raab and Herman von Tappeiner. The discovery of the tumour-localizing ability of haematoporphyrin, together with its phototoxic effect on tumour cells led to the development of photodynamic therapy, a promising tool in modern cancer treatment.