Sister chromatid exchanges in lymphocytes of psoriatics after treatment with 8-methoxypsoralen and long wave ultraviolet radiation.

Sister chromatid exchange rates in cultured cells from the blood of patients receiving photochemotherapy have been examined as an indicator of possible genetic hazards of the treatment to patients with psoriasis. Lymphocytes of untreated patients with psoriasis appear to have sister chromatid exchange rates after 72 h of culture indistinguishable from normal subjects and there is no evidence from these studies that sister chromatid exchanges are significantly increased in the lymphocytes of patients receiving photochemotherapy. Cells from blood taken from patients who had been given 8-methoxypsoralen orally 2 h before and then irradiated with UV-A in vitro were found to have an increased exchange rate which could be related to the presence of the drug in the peripheral circulation.