8-methoxypsoralen

Patients take a drug, 8-methoxypsoralen, and then sit in special tanning booths where they are exposed to ultraviolet A radiation.

Ancient Egyptians had extracted a chemical, 8-methoxypsoralen, from limes, figs and various plants and used it in combination with sunlight to treat the disease.

He wondered if the drug 8-methoxypsoralen, the full name of 8-MOP, which is used to treat psoriasis, might help get rid of cancerous cells by making leukapheresis more efficient.

In each treatment session, the patients took 8-methoxypsoralen, one of a class of compounds called psoralens that are derived from Ammi majus, a weed native to the banks of the Nile.

In this procedure, buffy coat (WBC + platelets) is separated from whole blood, chemically treated with 8-methoxypsoralen (instilled into collection bag or given per os in advance), exposed to ultraviolet light, and returned to the patient.