Understanding Narrowband UVB Phototherapy

Narrowband UVB Phototherapy – The Basics

“Narrowband” UVB has become the phototherapy t because it delivers the largest amounts of the most beneficial wavelengths of UV light, while minimizing the potentially harmful wavelengths. 

Conventional “Broadband” UVB lamps emit light in a broad range over the UVB spectrum, including both the therapeutic wavelengths specific to the treatment of skin diseases, plus the shorter wavelengths responsible for sunburning (erythema). Sunburning has a negative therapeutic benefit, increases the risk of skin cancer, causes patient discomfort, and limits the amount of therapeutic UVB that can be taken.  

“Narrowband” UVB lamps, on the other hand, emit light over a very short range of wavelengths concentrated in the therapeutic range and minimally in the sunburning range, exploiting a “sweet spot” between the two around 311 nm. UVB-Narrowband is therefore theoretically safer and more effective than UVB-Broadband, but requires either longer treatment times or equipment with more bulbs to achieve maximum dose, which is upon slight onset of mild skin reddening after treatment, known as “sub-erythema”. Solarc’s UVB-Narrowband models have a “UVB-NB” suffix in the model number, such as 1780UVB‑NB. Solarc’s UVB-Broadband models have only a “UVB” suffix, such as 1740UVB. “Narrowband UVB” was developed by Philips Lighting of Holland and is also known as: Narrow Band UVB, UVB Narrowband, UVB‑NB, NB‑UVB, TL/01, TL‑01, TL01, 311 nm, etc., (where “01” is the Philips phosphor code embedded in UVB-Narrowband bulb part numbers).

And for a more detailed explanation: 

Understanding Narrowband UVB Phototherapy

“Narrowband” UVB (UVB-NB) has become the phototherapy treatment of choice for psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis (eczema), and other photoresponsive skin disorders. Understanding the benefits of “Narrowband” UVB versus conventional “Broadband” UVB phototherapy requires an understanding of light and the processes it affects.

The spectrum of optical radiation (light) is made up of different wavelengths of “light” ranging from 100 nanometers (nm) in the ultraviolet (UV) range to 1 millimeter (mm) in the infrared (IR) range. Visible light spans from about 380 nm (violet) to 780 nm (red) and are known as the “colors” that we see with our eyes. Ultraviolet is invisible and ranges from 380 nm down to 100 nm, and is further subdivided into UVA (315-380 nm), UVB (280-315 nm), and UVC (100-280 nm).

Different wavelengths of “light” produce different effects on materials. Many important processes have been scientifically studied to determine the relative contribution of each wavelength to the studied process. Graphs known as “action spectrum” are used to describe these relationships. The greater the “action spectrum sensitivity”, the more responsive the process to that wavelength.

The action spectrum for psoriasis has been studied^1,2 to determine that the most therapeutic wavelengths are 296 to 313 nm. As shown in FIGURE B, conventional UVB-Broadband lamps cover this range and have been used successfully for more than 60 years.

In the late 1980’s, Philips Lighting of Holland developed just such a lamp, known as the “TL-01” or “UVB Narrowband” lamp. The smaller grey shaded area in FIGURE D shows that UVB-Narrowband lamps have considerably less erythemogenic output (sunburning potential) than conventional UVB-Broadband lamps. This means that more therapeutic UVB can be delivered before erythema occurs, and since erythema is a risk factor for skin cancer, these new lamps should theoretically be less carcinogenic for the same therapeutic results^4,5,6,7. Furthermore, and critical to the success witnessed by home UVB-Narrowband phototherapy, it becomes much more possible that the disease is controlled without ever reaching the erythemogenic threshold^9,10, which was always a problem with UVB-Broadband treatments. It is interesting to note that the peak of the UVB-Narrowband curve is about ten times higher than the UVB-Broadband curve, thus the source of the name “Narrowband”.

More recent studies have confirmed these findings and also determined that UVB-Narrowband has fewer burning incidents and longer remission periods than UVB-Broadband. When compared to PUVA (Psoralen + UVA-1 light), UVB-Narrowband has significantly fewer side effects and has replaced it in many cases⁸.

One disadvantage of UVB-Narrowband is that, because the maximum dosage is limited by the onset of slight erythema, and UVB-Narrowband is less erythemogenic than UVB-Broadband, longer treatment times are required. This can be compensated by increasing the number of bulbs in the device^4,5,6,7. For instance, based on Solarc’s home phototherapy after sales follow-ups for UVB-Broadband, the 4-bulb 1740UVB provides reasonable treatment times; whereas for UVB-Narrowband, the 8-bulb 1780UVB-NB is a common choice. The theoretical ratio of erythemogenic potential of UVB-Broadband to UVB-Narrowband is in the range of 4:1 to 5:1.

Other diseases such as vitiligo, eczema, mycosis fungoides (CTCL), and many others have also been successfully treated with UVB-Narrowband, generally for the same reasons as described above for psoriasis.