Background: Topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) was originally used for treating superficial skin tumors. The application of PDT to other inflammatory dermatoses like acne vulgaris, psoriasis, granuloma annulare, localized scleroderma and lichen sclerosus has recently been introduced. However, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We've previously reported the induction of tumor growth factor (TGF)-β1 and interleukin (IL)-10 after PDT with ALA and intense pulsed light (IPL) in cultured HaCaT cells. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the expressions of TGF-β1 and IL-10 in cultured fibroblasts after PDT with using ALA and IPL. Methods: Cultured fibroblasts were treated with ALA-IPL PDT (1μmol/L of ALA; 0, 4, 8 and 12 J/cm 2 of IPL). The expressions of TGF-β1 and IL-10 were investigated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Results: TGF-β1 mRNA and protein were reduced down to 0.52-and 0.63-fold, respectively, after PDT and the IL-10 protein was increased up to 2.74-fold after PDT. Conclusion: The reduction of TGF-β1 was prominent after PDT and so an antisclerotic effect can be expected after PDT. The induction of IL-10 may contribute to the anti-inflammatory effect, which explains the therapeutic benefit of PDT for inflammatory dermatoses.

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Objectives：Urticaria is multifactorial disease. Type 1 hypersensitivity reaction plays an important role in developing or aggravating the disease, so determining of the causative allergens and avoiding them from patient's environment are helpful in treating the disease. The purpose of this study is to estimate the positive rate of each allergens in urticaria patients and to assess the differences by sex, age, year, residence type and the duration of the disease.Methods：We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 304 patients with urticaria who underwent skin prick test and 707 patients with urticaria who underwent serum allergen test at the department of dermatology in Mok-Dong Hospital, Ewha Womans University for 10 years from March 1998 to April 2008.Results：In skin prick test, the positive rates of major allergen were D.farinae 52.0%, D.pteronyssinus 47.7%, cockroach mix 27.3%, weeds 15.8%, shellfish 15.1% in that order. D.farinae, D.pteronyssinus and cockroach mix had the highest positive rates in acute and chronic urticaria, but the rates in acute urticaria were much lower than those in chronic urticaria. In serum allergen test, the positive rates of major allergen were D.farinae 31.8%, D.pteronyssinus 24.5%, housedust 24.0%, acarus siro 11.0%, cat fur 9.3%. D.farinae and D.pteronyssinus showed the highest positive rates in 20s and cockroach mix in 40s.Conclusion：Some allergens had statistically significant differences of positive rates by each parameter. Therefore identifying and analysing allergen trends would play an important role in deprivation therapy in urticaria patients.KEY WORDS： UrticariaㆍSkin prick testㆍMAST-CLAㆍAllergyScreen immunoblotㆍAllergen.