This controlled study looked at the effect of stress reduction interventions in the treatment of psoriasis, a chronic skin disease characterized by inflamed red areas and silvery scales. The stress reduction treatments were comprised of breathing, visualization, and body awareness meditations and were paired either one of two standard treatments: phototherapy (ultraviolet B light, UVB) or photochemotherapy (psoralen plus ultraviolet A light, PUVA). Two groups, one doing either only phototherapy or photochemotherapy, acted as controls, while two other groups, one doing phototherapy with meditation and the other photochemotherapy with meditation, acted as the experimental subjects. Patients were assessed based on the rate of skin clearing observed at intervals of every four weeks. The study showed that individuals in the meditation groups reached standardized clinical end-points for skin clearing 3.5 times faster than individuals in the non-meditation groups. The results indicating the efficacy of meditation and stress-reduction interventions are only tentative, but do provide grounds for continued investigation and experimentation. (Zach Rowinski 2005-03-03)