Salt water bathing prior to UVB irradiation leads to a decrease of the minimal erythema dose and an increased erythema index without affecting skin pigmentation.

The combination of salt water baths and solar radiation is known as an effective treatment for patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. To determine whether increased susceptibility to UVB radiation may contribute to this therapeutic effect we have studied the effect of bathing the skin in salt water prior to UVB irradiation. Twelve subjects were phototested on the volar aspects of their forearms with increasing doses of UVB radiation. One forearm was exposed to 5% salt water prior to irradiation. The minimal erythema dose (MED) was determined and the erythema index and skin pigmentation were assessed by photometric measurement. The combination of salt water bath and irradiation yielded a significant decrease of the MED when compared to UVB alone (median 90 mJ/cm2 vs 130 mJ/cm2, P < 0.01). Analysis of variance showed a significant influence of salt water bath on erythema (P < 0.05) but not on skin pigmentation. Within the MED test area the erythema index of the salt water exposed forearms was elevated significantly (P < 0.05) while skin pigmentation was not affected. Thus, bathing the skin in salt water leads to a decreased threshold level for the elicitation of UVB-induced erythema and a selective increase of the erythemal response. This sensitization to the effects of shortwave UVB radiation may increase immunosuppressive effects of UVB radiation and may lead to an increased efficacy of UVB phototherapy. However, there is also an increased sunburn risk when salt water baths are followed by exposure to UV radiation.

[Effect of various salt solutions on ultraviolet B-induced erythema and pigmentation]. / Der Einfluss verschiedener Salzlösungen auf die Ultraviolett-B-vermittelte Induktion von Erythem und Pigmentierung.

The combination of saltwater baths and subsequent ultraviolet irradiation is an effective treatment for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. The aim of the present study was to determine the photosensitizing properties of two commercially available bath salts, original salt from the Dead Sea and sodium chloride. To address this issue, test areas on the volar aspects of the forearms were soaked with salt solutions for 15 minutes prior to ultraviolet-B (UVB) irradiation. The salt concentrations tested were 1%, 3% 5% and 15%. Tap water followed by UVB and UVB alone served as controls. Erythema was determined by visual and photometric measurement, and delayed tanning was assessed by colorimetry. Erythema obtained by wetting the skin prior to UVB irradiation was more pronounced than erythema induced by UVB alone. The most prominent erythema was yielded by tap water + UVB. The salts had a differing photosensitizing capacity and the strongest erythema was produced by the 5% solutions. There was only a moderate influence on delayed tanning by bathing the skin prior to irradiation. The results from the present study indicate that soaking the skin with salt solutions or tap water increases skin sensitivity to subsequent UVB irradiation. This may contribute to the effectiveness of salt water baths followed by UV irradiation and may account for an increased sunburn risk after bathing.

Protection of mice against SV40 tumours by Pam3Cys, MTP-PE and Pam3Cys conjugated with the SV40 T antigen-derived peptide, K(698)-T(708).

The intraperitoneal injection of Balb/c mice with synthetic analogues of adjuvants S-[2,3-bis(palmitoyloxy)-(2-RS)-propyl]-N-palmitoyl-R-cysteine (Pam3Cys) or muramyltripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine (MTP-PE) inhibited the tumourigenic growth of subcutaneously injected VLM cells, a syngeneic simian virus 40 (SV40)-transformed cell line. Furthermore, the Pam3Cys conjugate of K698-T708 (KT), which represents the C-terminal undecapeptide of the SV40 large tumour (T) antigen, was tumour-protective. Also syngeneic spleen cells, preincubated in vitro with this Pam3Cys-KT derivative, which anchores spontaneously at the cell membrane, were, through SV40 tumour mimicry, tumour-protective. The protection was impaired by treatment of the mice with either anti-CD4, anti-CD8 IgG, anti asialo GM1 antiserum or dextrane sulfate, which deplete the CD4+, CD8+ and NK cells or the macrophages, respectively. In summary, SV40 tumour transplantation resistance can be experimentally elicited by a tumour-epitope-specific vaccine. In the absence of an immunogenic epitope protection was obtained by administration of biological response modifiers. Protection is effected by SV40-T-antigen-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes in cooperation with NK cells and macrophages.

Cytokine production in leukocyte cultures during therapy with Echinacea extract.

We measured the levels of the cytokines IL-1-alpha, IL-1-beta, IL-2, IL-6, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma in culture supernatants of stimulated whole blood cells derived from 23 tumor patients undergoing a 4-week oral treatment with a spagyric extract from Echinacea angustifolia, Eupatorium perfoliatum, and Thuja occidentalis (Echinacea complex). All patients had had curative surgery for a localized solid malignant tumor. Blood was taken before treatment and after 2 and 4 weeks of therapy. Twelve untreated tumor patients at the same clinical stage, also after curative surgery, served as a control group. In the blood cell cultures of all patients, a rather wide range of cytokine levels was found. After therapy with Echinacea complex, no significant alteration in the production of the cytokines could be seen in comparison to the controls, and also the leukocyte populations remained constant. We conclude that at this application and dosage, the therapy with Echinacea complex has no detectable effect on tumor patients' lymphocytes activity as measured by their cytokine production.

[Intraindividual comparison of whole body cold therapy and warm treatment with hot packs in generalized tendomyopathy]. / Intraindividueller Vergleich einer Ganzkörperkältetherapie und einer Wärmebehandlung mit Fangopackungen bei der generalisierten Tendomyopathie (GTM).

In a cross-over study, the short-term efficacy of whole-body cold therapy and hot mud packs in patients with generalized tendomyopathy (fibromyalgia) was compared. As a pain assessment, visual analog scale and so-called pain score were measured; dolorimetry of the 24 tender points and eight control points was performed as well. Using these methods, we found that there is a significant improvement of all parameters examined during a 2-h period of measurements after cold application, and a marked improvement was also detectable 24 h after this therapy. In contrast, only pain score values showed a slight decrease immediately after hot mud-pack therapy, and no significant differences were found in visual analog scale and pressure tenderness as measured dolorimetrically. Central inhibition of nociceptors as a result of an activation of A-delta system as well as a blockade of gamma-motoneurons are discussed to be a mechanism of action of whole-body cold therapy, resulting in a decrease in muscle tonus. Long-term studies are needed to determine, if there is any enduring effect of whole-body cold therapy on pain in the patients with generalized tendomyopathy.