Alternative treatment of psoriasis with balneotherapy using Leopoldine spa water.

BACKGROUND: Leopoldine spa water is a hypotonic water rich in sulphate that has been used occasionally for balneological treatments in psoriatics. We evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of this salso-sulphate water on the skin of subjects with psoriasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We selected 10 volunteer subjects (23-58 years old), who presented symmetrical, bilateral psoriasis involving at least 40% of the body surface. All the subjects were subjected to the following treatment schedule: (i) immersion of both arms in water twice a day [the right arm was immersed in Leopoldine spa water at its natural source temperature (27.2 degrees C) for 30 min, and the left arm was immersed in double-distilled water for 30 min at a constant temperature of 27 degrees C]; (ii) both arms were exposed to the sun for 60 min after each immersion; and (iii) vaseline containing moisturizing creams were applied liberally. The treatment was continued for 4 weeks and was well tolerated by all subjects. Response to treatment was assessed by means of the modified Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Six of the 10 subjects volunteered to undergo a cutaneous biopsy of lesional skin both before and 4 weeks after treatment to allow for assessment of modifications of the cutaneous infiltrate in the areas treated.
RESULTS: At the end of 4 weeks the average pretreatment PASI score of the left arms was 5.72 (range 4-9.6) while the right arms had a mean PASI of 5.56 (range of 3.2-9). At the end of the study the average PASI score was 0.78 for the arms treated with Leopoldine spa water and 2.83 for the arms treated with double-distilled water. The mean PASI improvement score for the Leopoldine spa water treated arms was 85.9% while the double-distilled water treated arms showed a PASI improvement score of 50.5%. An immunohistological study showed significant differences between the cutaneous samples taken 4 weeks after treatment and those taken before treatment with Leopoldine spa water. There were significant decreases in the numbers of epidermal CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes and CD1a+ Langerhans cells (microscopic field at x 22 objective), as well as a decrease in the epidermal keratinocyte expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and interleukin-8 and the dermal expression of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes.
CONCLUSIONS: These data show the potential anti-inflammatory effects of Leopoldine mineral waters on human skin affected by psoriasis.