A novel light therapy which combines infrared, red and violet light emitted through LEDs* appears safe and improves the conditions of finger ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a pilot study shows. “Despite there being treatments available to prevent digital ulcers [DUs] recurrent ulceration remains a major source of morbidity in patients with SSc … [and] these treatments are often poorly tolerated,” the researchers pointed out.
“There is a strong therapeutic rationale to develop ‘locally’ acting treatments for DUs, which would likely be well tolerated by patients (ie, without systemic vasodilation) and could potentially avoid the need for hospitalization to administer intravenous therapies,” they continued. After 46 light exposures on 14 DUs in eight patients (mean age 48.5 years, 87.5 percent female), their ulcer status improved, as indicated by a significant reduction…
