Combined therapy of local recombinant human interferon α1b injection and acupuncture on verruca vulgaris: a retrospective study.

Verruca vulgaris is always stubborn to treat. We applied a new combined therapy of local recombinant human interferon alpha 1b (rhIFNα1b) injection plus acupuncture on verruca vulgaris recently to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combined therapy. The retrospective study was conducted in The First Hospital of China Medical University from 2018 to 2020. Patients with verruca vulgaris were included. Combined therapy with local rhIFNα1b injection plus acupuncture was set as treatment group, rhIFNα1b injection and carbon dioxide (CO2) laser were set as control groups. A total of 2415 patients were included in the study. The cure rates were 81.85%, 85.93%, and 100% in combined group, rhIFNα1b group, and CO2 laser group, separately. All lesions cured in combined group were located on hands or feet, while majority of lesions cured in other groups were located on other sites. For patients with medium/big single lesion or 6-9 lesions, less treatment times were needed in combined group than rhIFNα1b group. For patients with small single, two to five or more than ten lesions, the treatment times of combined group and rhIFNα1b group were comparable. All patients complained of pain in varying degrees when local injection or laser irradiation. Compared with CO2 laser group, more fever, less swelling or scar was reported in combined group. In conclusion, combined therapy of local rhIFNα1b plus acupuncture was beneficial for verruca vulgaris with limited adverse effects. The therapy was more acceptable by younger female patients with verruca vulgaris.

Application of benvitimod on psoriasis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. A systematic review of benvitimod on psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: We conducted this systematic review to clarify the efficacy and safety of benvitimod on psoriasis. METHODS: We searched the databases of PubMed, China National Knowledge infrastructure, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of science to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of benvitimod on psoriasis up to April 2021. RESULTS: Five RCTs of benvitimod on psoriasis were included. A total of 1237 patients were included. 0.5% or 1.0% benvitimod was applied topically once or twice a day. More patients in benvitimod group achieved PASI 90, PASI 75, PASI 50 and BSA reduction than placebo at Week 12. More patients in benvitimod group achieved PGA 0 or 1 than placebo since Week 6. There were no statistical significances in efficacies of benvitimod at different concentrations and frequencies. CONCLUSIONS: Benvitimod was effective and safe for psoriasis. More RCTs with high qualities are needed to further verify the current conclusion.

The assessment of psychology, quality of life in acne patients and evaluation of ALA-PDT for moderate to severe acne.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the state of psychology and quality of life of patients effected by acne and also the efficacy and safety of photodynamic therapy with topical 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA-PDT) for moderate to severe acne patients. METHODS: In the questionnaire part, a pre-designed form was filled out. The questionnaire was comprised of 2 sections related to acne including sociodemographic and disease information as well as Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). In the trial part, the ALA-PDT was applied to moderate to severe acne patients. Fresh 5% ALA solution was topically applied to face or face & neck. After 1 h's incubation, a LED device was illuminated. A power density of 60-100 mW/cm2 was delivered for 20 min. All the patients finished 3-4 sessions of ALA-PDT at 7-10 days intervals. Non-invasive detections were taken for skin moisture, oil, and VISIA indexes. Adverse events were recorded during and after the treatment. RESULTS: A total of 247 acne patients finished questionnaires. Over 97 % patients were assessed as mild to severe impacts in CADI questionnaire and 37.6 % patients had various degrees of anxiety in SAS questionnaire. The higher the BMI was, the higher the CADI points were (G = 0.278, p = 0.005). The severity of acne was correlated with psychology and quality of life (CADI: G = 0.367, p = 0.000; SAS: G = 0.285, p = 0.003). A total of 116 patients with moderate or severe acne accepted ALA-PDT and completed at least 3 sessions (PDT3) or even PDT4. After 1 session of treatment (AT1) and AT2, the efficiencies of all patients were 5.2 % and 29.3 %. For patients with PDT3, the efficiencies at follow-up at 1st month after last session (FU1), FU2 and FU3 were 59.4 %, 66.7 % and 78.3 %, respectively. For patients with PDT4, the efficiencies at AT3 and FU1-3 were 51.3 %, 63.6 %, 76.5 % and 85.7 %, respectively. The efficacies of PDT4 patients showed an increasing trend from FU1 to FU3 (G = 0.480, p = 0.004). Acne lesions of mild to severe were correlated with the treatment efficacies (FU1: G = 0.354, p = 0.000; FU2: G = 0.474, p = 0.000; FU3: G = 0.397, p = 0.000). Nearly 15 % patients were followed up for 12 months and among them 52.9 % patients were able to maintain ≥90 % improvement rate. There were no statistically significant differences before and after treatment (p > 0.05) according to the skin moisture content, oil content, ultraviolet ray spots, brown spots, red areas, and purple textures measured. The adverse reactions of ALA-PDT, including local burning sensation, mild pain sensation, mild edema erythema, reactive acne, pigmentation, etc., were temporary and tolerable. CONCLUSION: In our study, 97.2 % patients were rated as impact in CADI questionnaire and 37.6 % patients had anxiety in SAS questionnaire. It is necessary to control weight and disease progression. The efficiencies of ALA-PDT for moderate and severe acne were 59.4%-85.7% at follow-ups of 1st, 2nd or 3rd month after last session. The adverse reactions of ALA-PDT were temporary and tolerable.

A retrospective study of neck rejuvenation using a noninsulated microneedle radiofrequency in Chinese subjects.

Large-scale long-term retrospective study of noninsulated microneedle radiofrequency treatment on neck rejuvenation is lacking. We conducted a 3-year retrospective observation of subjects treated with noninsulated microneedle radiofrequency (NIMNRF) for neck rejuvenation in Chinese subjects. Of all subjects, 28 subjects (28.6%) received only 1 session of treatment. About 50% subjects achieved ≥ 50% improvement, and average improvements were 37.0% at 3 months follow-up (M3) and 41.6% at 6 months follow-up (M6). Seventy subjects (71.4%) accepted 3 sessions of treatments. The neck aging scores were 3.57 ± 1.28 at baseline, and significantly decreased to 1.10 ± 0.84 at M3 (p < 0.05), 1.04 ± 0.86 (p < 0.05) at M6, separately. The average improvements were 73.3% at M3 and 75.1% at M6. It showed a trend of better efficacy with the increasing number of sessions (p < 0.05). Among of 6 subjects who was followed up for 1 year, 5 subjects who received 3 sessions of treatment achieved about 70% improvement after final session, and another 1 subject who received 1 session remained the improvement up to 40%. The results demonstrate NIMNRF treatment has significant and long-lasting effect on neck laxity and wrinkle reduction with minimal discomfort and downtime.

Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in skin wound healing: A systematic review of animal studies.

Bacterial infection is a common wound complication that can significantly delay healing. Classical local therapies for infected wounds are expensive and are frequently ineffective. One alternative therapy is photodynamic therapy (PDT). We conducted a systematic review to clarify whether PDT is useful for bacteria-infected wounds in animal models. PubMed and Medline were searched for articles on PDT in infected skin wounds in animals. The language was limited to English. Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The overall study methodological quality was moderate, with a low-moderate risk of bias. The animal models were mice and rats. The wounds were excisional, burn, and abrasion wounds. Wound size ranged from 6 mm in diameter to 1.5 × 1.5 cm2 . Most studies inoculated the wounds with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Eleven and 17 studies showed that the PDT of infected wounds significantly decreased wound size and bacterial counts, respectively. Six, four, and two studies examined the effect of PDT on infected wound-cytokine levels, wound-healing time, and body weight, respectively. Most indicated that PDT had beneficial effects on these variables. PDT accelerated bacteria-infected wound healing in animals by promoting wound closure and killing bacteria.

Ablative fractional Co2 laser aided delivery of long-acting glucocorticoid in the treatment of acral vitiligo: a multicenter, prospective, self-bilateral controlled study.

Background: Acral vitiligo often responses poorly to treatments. Objective: To observe whether pretreatment with ablative fractional CO2 laser aiding penetration of compound betamethasone solution plus NB-UVB could improve the response of refractory acral vitiligo. Methods: Subjects with symmetrical and stable acral vitiligo were enrolled in this study. The symmetrical lesions were randomly allocated to experimental and control sides in a subject. The experimental side underwent five sessions, one month apart, of ablative fractional CO2 laser followed by once of a topical painting of compound betamethasone solution, the control side applied topical betamethasone cream once a day; both sides underwent NB-UVB three times per week. The assessment was performed one month following each of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th treatment sessions. Results: Two hundred eighty-nine subjects entered the clinical trial and 126 subjects completed the study. The experiment side showed better improvement in repigmentation. Overall response rate (repigmentation percentage ≥10%) of experiment sides was 51.6%, in contrast, that of control side was 35.8%. There were no severe adverse events in all subjects during the trial. Conclusions: A triple method of ablative fractional CO2 laser, topical compound betamethasone solution plus NB-UVB provided an alternative choice for acral vitiligo with remarkable safety profile. Cinical trial registration: This clinical trial has been registered at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Registration number: ChiCTR-TRC-12002593).

Comprehensive survey of vitiligo patients in the northeast of China using a predesigned questionnaire.

To assess the sociodemographic data and clinical information of outpatients affected by vitiligo in the northeast of China, vitiligo patients or guardians who presented to the clinic were invited to participate in an exploratory questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two sections related to vitiligo, including sociodemographic data and clinical information. A total of 983 vitiligo patients answered the questionnaire. The rates of female and male patients were comparable. The investigated patients were mostly young and middle-aged. Most patients suffered from vitiligo in childhood or young adulthood. Vitiligo vulgaris was the most common type of vitiligo in clinic and 53.0% of patients were categorized as body surface area (BSA) of 10% or less. In response to the latest treatment, 43.6% of patients achieved good response (completely stopped or almost disappeared). More patients at active stage showed good response than the patients at stable stage (χ2 = 7.866, P < 0.05). Chronic comorbid condition(s) were observed in 12.6% of patients with BSA of more than 10%, whereas those were seen in 6.0% of patients with BSA of 10% or less (χ2 = 12.969, P < 0.05). In conclusion, active vitiligo seems to respond better than stable vitiligo and complications with other autoimmune diseases more frequently observed in severe patients than mild patients. The current study presented a comprehensive understanding of vitiligo in the northeast of China.

Screening and identification of differentially expressed serum proteins in patients with vitiligo using two­dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry.

In the clinic, vitiligo is characterized by two stages: Stable and progressive. The pathogenesis of vitiligo is still not clear. Here, we identified serum markers of vitiligo by screening for differentially expressed proteins in patients with vitiligo compared to healthy individuals. Serum samples were collected from patients with vitiligo (n=10 for both the stable and progressive stages) and healthy individuals (n=10). Two­dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by matrix­assisted laser desorption/ionization time­of­flight mass spectrometry and western blotting were used to validate the differential expression of the proteins in the serum (n=20 each, at both stages for patients and healthy individuals). A total of 48 differentially expressed proteins were identified by gel image analysis. There were 28 differentially expressed proteins in patients with progressive vitiligo (PV) and 13 differentially expressed proteins in patients with stable vitiligo (SV) compared with that in healthy individuals. Additionally, 7 differentially expressed proteins were identified in patients with PV compared with those in patients with SV. The western blotting results showed that Peroxiredoxin­6, apolipoprotein L1, apolipoprotein E and mannose­binding protein were differentially expressed in patients with different stages of vitiligo. Our results showed that change serum levels of several proteins might be useful as biomarkers or in understanding the pathogenesis of vitiligo.

Corrigendum to "Glutathione Peroxidase Level in Patients with Vitiligo: A Meta-Analysis".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2016/3029810.].

Glutathione Peroxidase Level in Patients with Vitiligo: A Meta-Analysis.

Abnormality of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is involved in the etiology and pathogenesis of vitiligo. However, the results were controversial. Aim. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to compare the levels of GPx between vitiligo patients and healthy controls. Methods. Relevant published articles were searched according to eligibility criteria. A meta-analysis was conducted to pool estimates of the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results. Twenty-three studies with a total of 1076 vitiligo patients and 770 healthy controls were included. The pooled meta-analysis showed that patients with vitiligo had equivalent levels of GPx with the healthy controls (SMD = -0.47, 95% CI: -1.03 to 0.08, and p = 0.095). Further subgroup analysis showed that the GPx levels of Asian patients or segmental vitiligo patients were, respectively, lower than those of healthy controls (Asian: SMD = -0.47, 95% CI: -1.08 to 0.14, and p = 0.001; segmental: SMD = -3.59, 95% CI: -6.38 to -0.80, and p = 0.012). Furthermore, the GPx levels in serum/plasma were significantly decreased in either stable or active vitiligo patients, comparing to healthy controls (stable: SMD = -2.01, 95% CI: -3.52 to -0.49, and p = 0.009; active: SMD = -2.34, 95% CI: -4.07 to -0.61, and p = 0.008). Conclusion. This meta-analysis showed a significant association between low GPx level and vitiligo.

Treatment of vitiligo with NB-UVB: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect and safety of NB-UVB for vitiligo using an evidence-based approach. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of vitiligo with NB-UVB were identified by searching PubMed and the Cochrane Library. The primary outcome was re-pigmentation degree. RESULTS: A total of seven RCTs involving 232 participants with vitiligo were included in this systematic review. The methodological qualities of included studies were generally moderate. Two trials compared narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) with UVA control, showing no significant differences between two methods on the number of patients who achieved >60% re-pigmentation [relative risk (RR) = 2.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11-56.97, p > 0.05]. Two trials compared NB-UVB with psoralens plus UVA (PUVA) control, and no difference was seen between the two treatments on the number of patients who achieved >50 re-pigmentation (RR = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.64-2.11, p > 0.05) or >75% re-pigmentation (RR = 2.00, 95% CI: 0.89-4.48, p > 0.05). Three trials compared NB-UVB with 308-nm excimer light/laser (EL) control, and again no significant difference was found between the two methods (p > 0.05). The adverse events of NB-UVB in the included studies were slight and tolerated. CONCLUSION: NB-UVB showed equivalent efficacies to UVA, PUVA or 308-nm EL control in the treatment of vitiligo. Side effects of NB-UVB were acceptable. More RCTs were needed to validate the results.

Treatment of 308-nm excimer laser on vitiligo: A systemic review of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is an acquired cutaneous hypopigmentary disorder, which characterized by solitary or multiple depigmented maculae or patches. The 308-nm excimer laser has been used as phototherapy on vitiligo. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 308-nm excimer laser on vitiligo. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials were searched to conduct a systematic review. The keywords were identified as laser/excimer laser/quasimolecule/XeCl" and "vitiligo". RESULTS: Seven studies with 390 vitiligo patients were included. No significant differences were seen between 308-nm excimer laser and 308-nm excimer lamp on either ≥75% or ≥50% re-pigmentation rate, or between 308-nm excimer laser and narrowband-ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) on either 100% or ≥75% re-pigmentation rate. More patients or lesions achieved ≥50% re-pigmentation rate by 308-nm excimer laser treatment than by NB-UVB treatment. The side effects of 308-nm excimer laser were slight and tolerable. CONCLUSIONS: The 308-nm excimer laser showed equivalent efficacies to 308-nm excimer lamp control and NB-UVB control concerning ≥75% re-pigmentation rate of vitiligo patches. More studies with high methodological quality, low risk of bias and more sample size are needed to confirm the conclusion.

Clearance of genital warts in pregnant women by mild local hyperthermia: a pilot report.

Genital warts acquired during pregnancy tend to grow fast, and management is challenging. We treated two cases of primipara with extensive genital warts by local hyperthermia at 44°C for 30 minutes a day for 3 consecutive days plus 2 additional days 1 week later, then once a week till there showed signs of clinical regression. The warty lesions in the patients resolved in 5 and 7 weeks, respectively. There was no sign of recurrence during a 6-month follow-up. This suggests that local hyperthermia seems to be a promising method for treating genital warts in pregnant women.

Local hyperthermia at 44 degrees C for the treatment of plantar warts: a randomized, patient-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.

There have been anecdotal reports that local hyperthermia was effective in the treatment of viral warts. We conducted a randomized, patient-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to test the effect of local hyperthermia (44 degrees C for 30 min a day for 3 consecutive days plus 2 additional days 2 weeks later) on plantar warts. By the end of 3 months, 53.57% of patients (15/28) in the treatment group and 11.54% of patients (3/26) in the control group were cured (P < .01). The effect was not influenced by patient age, duration of disease, or number or size of lesions.