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Home - Laser Dermatology - Psoriasis Laser
PSORIASIS LASER
This month's newsletter is about a new therapy available at Minars Dermatology for people who suffer from psoriasis: the Xtrac Laser. The Xtrac laser is the first FDA-approved laser treatment for psoriasis.
From sunlight to a laser light (the story)
A laser is simply a concentrated beam of light. And the use of light to treat psoriasis is certainly not new. Think of the Dead Sea in Israel where psoriasis has been treated for ages with sun light and salt water. The sun emits a broad spectrum of light and radiant energy of many different wavelengths. As science advanced and the spectrum of light was
categorized, it became evident that it was the ultraviolet portion of the light spectrum that was responsible for the improvement of psoriasis, specifically UVB (290 to 320nm). Doctors started to build light boxes with special bulbs that emitted only UVB light to treat their psoriasis patients. This was very effective and we still use these light boxes today.
Narrow Band UVB
After a few decades of experimenting, scientists found that within the UVB wave range (290 to 320nm), some wavelengths helped clear psoriasis (304 to 313nm), while others wavelengths only caused sunburn (290 to 300nm). This led to new bulbs in new light boxes that delivered more of the helpful light and less of the harmful light, and this is called "narrow-band UVB" (311-313nm). Xtrac Laser = "SUPER-Narrow Band UVB"
A laser is essentially a super narrow band of light. It is exactly one wavelength of concentrated light (308nm in the case of the Xtrac laser). The advantage of the Xtrac laser over narrow band UVB is that the laser delivers high-exposure doses that lead to more rapid clearing of psoriasis. So what used to take 25 to 30 treatments with narrow band UVB, may now take 8 to 10 treatments with the Xtrac laser.
Laser light vs. other psoriasis treatments
The advantage of light therapy in general (i.e. laser or conventional UVB/UVA) is that it is one of the few therapies for psoriasis that induce a remission. In other words, your psoriasis is gone for months, even after stopping the treatment.
Is the psoriasis laser for me?
Xtrac's beam is small-less than 1 inch in diameter-and can be targeted at selected areas of the skin affected by psoriasis. This light treatment is recommended for those with less than 10 percent of the body covered by psoriasis or lesions localized to specific areas of the body.
When will I see results?
It can take an average of four to 10 sessions to see results, depending on the particular case of psoriasis. It is recommended that patients are treated twice per week, with a minimum of 48 hours between treatments. Generally, the only side effect from laser treatment is a mild sunburn. There is no pain during the treatment (not even the "rubber band snapping against your skin" feeling that many lasers give).
Will my insurance pay for the Xtrac laser?
We will find out for you. If the doctor believes that you will benefit from the Xtrac laser, then our staff will contact your insurance company and determine your benefit (including how many treatments your insurance will pay for and the amount of your copay and/or deductible if any).
New Psoriasis Treatment Article
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