Precision Implementation of Minimal Erythema Dose (MED) Testing to Assess Individual Variation in Human Inflammatory Response

Summary

Minimal erythema dose (MED) testing is used to establish dosage schedules for ultraviolet radiation phototherapy. It can assess individual variation in inflammatory response but lacks methodology for achieving reproducible results. Here, we present a precision implementation of MED and demonstrate its ability to capture individual variation in inflammatory response.

Abstract

Minimal erythema dose (MED) testing is frequently used in clinical settings for determining the smallest amount of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation necessary to produce erythema (inflammatory reddening) on the surface of the skin. In this context, the MED is regarded as a key factor in determining starting doses for UV phototherapy for common skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. In research settings, MED testing also has potential to be a powerful tool for assessing within- and between-persons variation in inflammatory responses. However, MED testing has not been widely adopted for use in research settings, likely owing to a lack of published guidelines, which is a barrier to obtaining reproducible results from this assay. Also, protocols and equipment for establishing MED vary widely, making it difficult to compare results across laboratories. Here, we describe a precise and reproducible method to induce and measure superficial erythema using newly designed protocols and methods that can easily be adapted to other equipment and laboratory environments. The method described here includes detail on procedures that will allow extrapolation of a standardized dosage schedule to other equipment so that this protocol can be adapted to any UV radiation source.

Introduction

Minimal erythema dose (MED) testing is an FDA-approved procedure to evaluate cutaneous sensitivity to radiation typically in the UVB range, although the MED can be determined at other wavelengths in the UV and visible spectrum¹. Erythema is defined as superficial reddening on the surface of the skin caused by engorgement of capillaries (later stages of erythema are more commonly known as sunburn). MED testing has been used extensively in the dermatology literature and clinical phototherapy settings to identify the minimal amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that will produce the smallest unit of measurable change in the redness of the skin. ME....

Protocol

All methods described below including the use of human volunteers have been reviewed and approved by the local Institutional Review Board (IRB), and are in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and Belmont Report. All participants (N=72) signed informed consent as proscribed by the IRB protocol. Inclusion/exclusion criteria and discontinuation procedures were designed to maximize participant safety, and any deviation from these procedures should be considered in light of their impact on risk and tolerability to human subjects. In the context of the work presented here, the exclusionary criteria restricted participation to individuals with no personal or family h....

Results

The timing schedule presented in Table 1 is a novel dosage schedule that was calculated to capture the MED, on average, at the mid-point of the exposure event (i.e., aperture 3 or 4) for each FST. The basis for the calculated schedule is as follows.

Prior work has established that for individuals with FST 2, the median MED for radiation in the UVB range is 66.9 milliwatts (mW) per cm², 77.429 mW/cm² for FST 3 and 85.0 for FST 4¹⁶. .......

Discussion

Precision implementation of MED testing as described here could offer several advantages over other extant lab-based inflammatory challenges that have achieved popular use. For example, suction blister protocols^17,18,19 raise a fluid-filled blister on the skin that is subsequently aspirated with a syringe to gain direct access to the cytokine microenvironment. Although skin blistering is a well-known tool for studying skin immun.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
6-aperture dose testing patch (“Cuff”)	Daavlin
Medical grade adhesive solvent
Non-reflective UV proof cloth
Radiometer	SolarLight	Model 6.2 UVB Meter
Single use aloe or burn gel
Spectrophotometer	Konika-Minolta	CM-2600D
Stopwatch
UV lamp – Fiji Sun	Sperti		Emission spectrum 280 nm-400 nm, approximately 25% UVB
UV-proof safety glasses (2 pair)
UV-proof sleeve
White cotton gloves (2 pair)