Breuer-McHam J, Marshall G, Adu-Oppong A, Goller M, Mays S, Berger T, Lewis D E, Duvic M
Department of Dermatology, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 77030, USA.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 1999 Jan;40(1):48-60. doi: 10.1016/s0190-9622(99)70527-x.
Ultraviolet light (UVL) upregulates HIV transcription in vitro and in transgenic mice. AIDS-associated psoriasis and pruritus respond to phototherapy.
Our goal was to determine the effect of phototherapy on viral load and immunologic parameters in HIV-positive patients.
T cell subsets, p24, plasma cytokines, serum or plasma HIV-RNA, dosage, and antivirals were assessed in HIV-positive patients and negative controls receiving 6 weeks of phototherapy with UVB and in untreated controls.
Phototherapy improved skin conditions without significantly affecting T cell numbers. Plasma p24 increased 2-fold (P = .055) and HIV-RNA levels 4-fold (P = .022) 6 weeks from baseline in patients who entered the trial before March 1995. Later patients who were mostly receiving combination antiviral therapy showed a 4-fold reduction in serum HIV-RNA (P = .012) at 2 weeks. The effect of UVB on viral load at 6 weeks was dependent on the baseline level (P = .006). IL-10 increased and was inversely related to HIV-RNA levels (P = .0267).
Phototherapy is associated with HIV load alterations, depending on patients' initial HIV-RNA, antiviral therapy, skin type, and UVL dosage.
