Blue light therapy decreases lesion count and alleviates itch in Grover disease patients

Chicago, IL: A new research found that blue light therapy decreases lesion count and alleviates itch in patients with Grover disease. The study was published in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

Grover disease also called transient acantholytic dermatosis is an uncommon skin disorder characterized by pruritic papulovesicular eruptions of truncal skin. Thermal insults of eccrine sweat ducts lead to subsequent occlusion developing Grover disease. Various treatments are used for the management of which researchers from Chicago, Illinois hypothesized that blue light therapy—treatment helps in the management of Grover disease. 

A nonrandomized controlled trial was conducted at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL) on eligible adults with Grover disease. After a 2-week washout period, using an FDA-cleared, commercially available blue light system, participants underwent 15 treatments of nonionizing blue light phototherapy irradiation without photosensitization. Each session lasted for 9 minutes per side, 3 times per week for 5 consecutive weeks, and the clinical status was determined by two blinded observers at both baseline and conclusion. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare the changes in lesion count, serum concentrations of TNF-α, C-reactive protein, IL-12p40, IFN-γ, Dermatology Life Quality Index, and 12-item Itch Severity Scale pretreatment and posttreatment.

Key findings:

• 11 patients were enrolled.
• The mean baseline lesion count decreased from 27 to 6
• Itch Severity Scale decreased from 7.8 to 5.1
• Two participants achieved complete disease resolution by the end.
• Dermatology Life Quality Index scores pretreatment and posttreatment scores did not differ.
• No change was observed in cytokine concentrations.
• There were no treatment-related adverse events. 

Thus, Grover disease patients had comfort with blue light therapy. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to further confirm the study.

Further reading: Olagbenro M, Ravi S, Myers D, et al. Assessment of Blue Light Phototherapy for Grover Disease: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial. JAMA Dermatol. Published online November 30, 2022. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2022.4491