General infrared irradiation in the combined treatment of patients presenting with limited scleroderma

The present study included 82 patients aged from 20 to 75 years presenting with the diagnosis of limited scleroderma. Sixty two of them were treated by infrared irradiation combined with traditional medicamentous therapy. Patients of the control group received traditional treatment alone. A course of physical therapy brought about clinical improvement in 86% of the patients within 14 days after the initiation of irradiation. Evaluation of the delayed results of physiotherapy showed that it prolonged the period of remission up to 6 months in 46.7% of the treated patients. Remission of similar duration was documented only in 28.5% of the patients given medicamentous therapy alone.

limited scleroderma, infrared irradiation, protein electrophoresis, laser spectrophotometry