UV hardening therapy: a novel intervention in patients with photosensitive cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Background: Patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (LE) and a history of disease- related photoaggravation, confirmed by phototesting, may not respond to photoprotection and/or medical intervention. Ultraviolet B-hardening therapy may improve tolerance for environmental ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in photosensitive disorders.

Objective: We studied the effect of UVB hardening on the cutaneous manifestations of patients with LE and their tolerance for UVR.