Enhanced sterilization and healing of cutaneous pseudomonas infection using 5-aminolevulinic acid as a photosensitizer with 410-nm LED light.

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) frequently develops antibiotic-resistant characteristics, which is clinically problematic. The main reason behind the rise of antibiotic-resistant PA is the extensive use of antibiotics. Therefore, a novel technique is needed to treat PA infections. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is thought to have the potential to be a non-antibiotic treatment for infections. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA), which works as a photosensitizer after being metabolized into protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) in the heme synthetic pathway, is used for PDT. Thus far, the in vivo effectiveness of PDT using ALA against PA is unknown. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated PDT using ALA both in vitro and in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS: Although PDT with ALA alone did not show a bactericidal effect on PA, PDT with both ALA and EDTA-2Na had a bactericidal effect in vitro. In in vivo experiments, wounds healed faster in PA-infected mice treated with PDT using both EDTA-2Na and ALA compared to non-PDT. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that PDT with EDTA-2Na and ALA is a potential novel treatment option for PA-infected wounds.

Photodynamic therapy using systemic administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid and a 410-nm wavelength light-emitting diode for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-infected ulcers in mice.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a worldwide problem. One potential alternative for bacterial control is photodynamic therapy. 5-aminolevulinic acid is a natural precursor of the photosensitizer protoporphyrin IX. Relatively little is known about the antibacterial efficacy of photodynamic therapy using the systemic administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid; a few reports have shown that 5-aminolevulinic acid exerts photodynamic effects on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in vitro. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy using 5-aminolevulinic acid and a 410-nm wavelength light-emitting diode in vitro and in vivo for the treatment of MRSA. We found that 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy with the light-emitting diode had an in-vitro bactericidal effect on MRSA. In vivo, protoporphyrin IX successfully accumulated in MRSA on ulcer surfaces after intraperitoneal administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid to mice. Furthermore, 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy accelerated wound healing and decreased bacterial counts on ulcer surfaces; in contrast, vancomycin treatment did not accelerate wound healing. Our findings indicate that 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy may be a new treatment option for MRSA-infected wounds.

Two cases of steatocystoma simplex in infants.

Steatocystoma simplex is a rare benign cutaneous cyst that is thought to be a circumscribed malformation arising from the pilosebaceous duct junction. Reports describing steatocystoma simplex are scarce and many issues remain to be clarified, including frequency and age distribution. Steatocystoma simplex is generally considered to be a solitary, non-inherited tumor arising in adults; there have been no previous reports of steatocystoma simplex in infants. We encountered two cases of steatocystoma simplex arising on the head in infants less than 2 years old. Herein we discuss the clinical and pathological characteristics of these cases.

Lipoma with bone and cartilage components in the left axilla of a middle-aged woman.

UNLABELLED: Lipoma is the most common type of benign soft tissue tumor. However, lipoma containing bone or cartilage is very rare, especially a tumor containing both of these components. We encountered a 59-year-old woman who had a benign lipoma of the infraspinatus muscle that contained both osseous and chondral components. Histopathological examination revealed the presence of chondral and osseous elements mixed with mature adipose tissue. To the best of our knowledge, there has never been a report of benign lipoma containing osteochondral tissue at this location. Therefore, we report the first case of an axillary lipoma with bone and cartilage components. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article.

A technique for auricular keloid core excision using a skin biopsy punch.

BACKGROUND: Keloids of the auricular region, resulting from ear piercing or external injury, are a common cosmetic problem. Surgical treatment followed by conservative management often is needed. The "hollowing out method for keloids of the auricle" retains the skin over the keloid lesion to minimize tension on the wound. This is considered to be the appropriate surgical treatment method, but skill is required to remove the keloid and retain the skin with a uniform thickness and appropriate form. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four patients with auricle keloids were included in this study. All the patients were females between the ages of 18 and 29 years (average age, 24.8 years). Keloid core excision using a skin biopsy punch with the patient under local anesthesia was performed for all the patients. RESULTS: Use of a skin biopsy punch resulted in a shorter operating time without causing ear deformity. CONCLUSION: The authors report a technique for keloid core excision using a skin biopsy punch and believe it is a useful method LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors at www.springer.com/00266.

Dye laser photodynamic therapy for Bowen's disease in a patient with epidermodysplasia verruciformis.

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) is a rare heritable skin disease that results in unusual susceptibility to infection with specific types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Here we report a 53-year-old man with EV who developed Bowen's disease on his lower eyelid and the chest. Mutation analysis of EVER1 gene revealed homozygous splice acceptor site mutation (IVS8-2, A > T). In this patient, HPV3, HPV14, and HPV38 had been identified from the skin lesions. The Bowen's skin lesion on the left lower eye-lid was treated by photodynamic therapy (PDT) using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and pulsed dye laser (PDL). After two rounds of the PDT treatment, the skin lesion disappeared and a skin biopsy confirmed the efficacy of the treatment. This method was simple, less invasive than other treatments, and achieved a satisfactory cosmetic result.

New training method of creating ear framework by using precise copy of costal cartilage.

New method to exercise creation of three-dimensional cartilage framework for ear by using a precise copy of the costal cartilage is presented. Precise negative impressions were taken from harvested 6th to 9th rib cartilage using molding material. Silicon-type dental impression material was injected into the negative impression to create a copy of the costal cartilage. Simulated surgical procedures were performed to evaluate this model; each step of creating three-dimensional framework for total auricular reconstruction was performed with exactly the same instrumentation for real surgery. We found that simulation of surgery was successfully performed, and created three-dimensional framework was very close to the real costal cartilage framework. By using a precise copy of the costal cartilage, simulation of creating ear framework came to a very realistic method to practice, and this method may give the "ear maker" a good opportunity to prepare for the actual surgical procedure.