What is excimer 308-nm light treatment?

Excimer light therapy is a progression of whole-body narrowband UVB treatment. For the treatment of localized psoriasis and vitiligo, narrowband UVB emits light with a wavelength of 311–312 nm. Irradiation of the entire body (even if the psoriasis is localized) and the requirement for a large number of treatments are two downsides of narrowband UVB (usually between 15 and 40 sessions).

The UV ray generated by the excimer light is delivered via a hand-held wand that focuses on the lesion. Compared with narrowband UVB, its advantages are:

What are the indications for excimer 308-nm light treatment?

Excimer laser therapy can be used to treat localized vitiligo and moderately severe localized psoriasis that has not responded to topical therapies. It is frequently used with topical treatments, such as topical calcineurin inhibitors and topical steroids, to improve responsiveness.

In these circumstances, more controlled trials are needed to compare excimer light therapy to topical therapies and other laser treatments. In addition, studies will be conducted to determine the effectiveness and safety of treatments in the short and long term, as well as to find the best dosage regimens and patient selection criteria.

It’s been used for localized severe atopic eczema, alopecia areata, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, localized scleroderma, and granuloma annulare, according to some case reports.

What are the side effects of excimer light treatment?

Excimer light is generally well tolerated. The goal of treatment is to administer a dose that causes noticeable redness in the psoriatic lesion (supra-erythematous dose) without causing blisters or second-degree burns. If the dose is too high, it creates blisters on the treated areas.

Other side effects include:

Skin ageing and skin cancer are caused by long-term exposure to UV light. Although the dangers of excimer laser therapy are unknown, research suggests it is safer than narrowband UVB since it does not expose the entire body to UV radiation.

What does the treatment involve?

There are currently no generally established disease-specific excimer light treatment regimens.

Patients come 1–3 times each week. The amount of UV provided is calculated and monitored carefully, taking into account the skin type, age, condition, location, and treatment response.

The treatment time is less than with whole-body phototherapy. Some response may be shown as early as 6–8 treatments, with a complete response taking 20–30 treatments. The usual treatment time is around seven weeks.

Some patients go into remission for a long time, while others relapse in 3–6 months.