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THERAPIES FOR T-CELL MEDIATED SKIN DISEASE (A PARADIGM):
| • | tend to have a “remittent effect” or a “suppressive effect” |
remittent effect:
| • | inducing long term remission |
| • | these therapies greatly reduce the number of activated T-cells in the epidermis and dermis by inducing T-cell apoptosis |
| • | ex. PUVA, UVB, methotrexate |
suppressive effect:
| • | improving lesions but with a prompt recurrence when the treatment is discontinued |
| • | these treatments inhibit the production of cytokines by intralesional T-cells |
| • | but rarely reduces the number of lesional T-cells below 50% of the pre-treatment levels |
| • | ex. topical corticosteroids, cyclosporine |
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