Comparison of blue laser and red light-emitting diode-mediated aminolevulinic acid-based photodynamic therapy for moderate and severe acne vulgaris: a prospective, split-face, nonrandomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a highly effective and safe drug-device combination treatment, typically using red and blue light. However, direct comparisons of aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-based PDT using these two light sources are lacking. Therefore, we compared the efficacy and adverse effects of ALA-based 450 nm blue laser-mediated PDT (BL-PDT) and 630 ± 10 nm red light-emitting diode-mediated PDT (RL-PDT) in the treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris, including analyses of different lesion types. METHODS: Sixteen patients with moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris were recruited. All patients underwent BL-PDT on the left side of the face and RL-PDT on the right side. Treatments were administered thrice at 2-week intervals, and follow-up continued for 2 weeks after the final treatment. The average rates of improvement in inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne lesions, IGA (Investigator's Global Assessment) scales, and IGA success rates were calculated. In addition, adverse effects during and after each treatment were recorded. RESULTS: At the 2-week follow-up after the final treatment, the average rates of improvement in total acne, inflammatory, and non-inflammatory lesions were 48.0%, 63.0%, and 30.0% in the BL-PDT group and 42.2%, 58.1%, and 27.5% in the RL-PDT group, respectively. The IGA scores for the two groups decreased by 1.8 and 1.7 points, respectively, and the IGA success rate was 53.3% in both groups. There were no significant differences between the BL-PDT and RL-PDT groups in any measure of effectiveness. However, the BL-PDT group exhibited more severe adverse effects, especially pain and hyperpigmentation. CONCLUSIONS: BL-PDT and RL-PDT have similar efficacies in moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris and are particularly effective for inflammatory acne lesions. RL-PDT benefits from milder adverse effects than those of BL-PDT.

LPCAT1 promotes melanoma cell proliferation via Akt signaling.

Melanoma is the most lethal type of skin cancer with an increasing cutaneous cancer­related mortality rate worldwide. Despite therapeutic advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy, the overall survival of patients with melanoma remains unsatisfactory. Thus, a further understanding of the pathogenesis of melanoma may aid towards the development of therapeutic strategies. Lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1 (LPCAT1) is a key enzyme that converts lysophosphatidylcholine into phosphatidylcholine in lipid remodeling. In the present study, LPCAT1 was found to play a pro­proliferative role in melanoma. Firstly, the expression of LPCAT1 was found to be upregulated in tissues from patients with melanoma compared with that in benign nevi. Subsequently, LPCAT1 knockdown was performed, utilizing short hairpin RNA, which induced melanoma cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition and promoted cell death. Moreover, LPCAT1 facilitated melanoma cell growth in an Akt­dependent manner. In summary, the results of the present study indicate that targeting LPCAT1 may impede cell proliferation by inhibiting Akt signaling, thus providing a promising therapeutic strategy for melanoma in clinical practice.

Epidermal Cyst on the Scalp Induced by Forceps Injury During Delivery: A Case Report and Epidemiological Analysis of 3949 Patients.

Background: Epidermal cysts are common benign epithelial tumors. They are known to result from penetrating-type injuries or infection of human papillomavirus. The differential diagnosis commonly includes multiplex steatocystoma, lipoma, and neurofibroma. Pathological examination is essential for diagnosis, and surgical excision is the recommended treatment. Objective: We report a case in a man who presented with a cystic lesion on the scalp over 22 years to provide clinical evidence for mechanism of epidermal cysts. We conducted epidemiological analysis of 3949 patients with epidermal cysts to clarify the epidemiological characteristics and clinical features of epidermal cysts. Patients and Methods: A total of 3949 individuals with confirmed epidermal cysts were collected for analysis. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM and analyzed using Student's t-test. Results: Our data showed that the mean age of diagnosis of males was statistically earlier than that of females (P<0.001), but no significant difference in sex predilection was observed (P=0.55). The high incidence age of males and females was in the young and middle stage. Lesion locations were a bit different among age groups, but the face was the most common site of epidermal cyst at all age stages. Conclusion: Our case offers clinical evidence to the theory which refers trauma as one of the main causes of epidermal cysts in hair-bearing area. According to analysis of large number of samples, we can further support the idea that epidermal cyst has equal sex predilection and mainly occurs on the young and middle-aged adults. It is usually solitary and most likely to be found on face and trunk.

A comparative analysis on characteristics and mortalities of four key transmission populations on antiretroviral therapy: a retrospective cohort study in Northwest China.

BACKGROUND: This study explored disparities in characteristics and mortalities among four major transmission groups on antiretroviral therapy in northwest China as well as the survival impact of each transmission route. METHODS: We first examined disparities in demographics and clinical characteristics of the four transmission populations. Kaplan Meier analysis was subsequently conducted to compare survival rates among all groups. At last, Cox proportional hazards regression model was employed to analyze the survival impact of a transmission route among seven main categories of survival factors associated with all-cause mortalities. RESULTS: Survival analysis showed significant differences in all-cause, AIDS- and non-AIDS-related deaths among four HIV populations (all P < 0.05). Using homosexuals as the reference, Cox proportional hazards model further revealed that the risk of all-cause death for blood and plasma donors was significantly higher than that of the reference (aHR: 5.21, 95%CI: 1.54-17.67); the risk of non-AIDS-related death for heterosexuals (aHR: 2.07, 95%CI: 1.01-4.20) and that for blood and plasma donors (aHR: 19.81, 95%CI: 5.62-69.89) were both significantly higher than that of the reference. CONCLUSIONS: Significant disparities were found in characteristics and mortalities among the four transmission groups where mortality disparities were mainly due to non-AIDS-related death. Suggestions are provided for each group to improve their survivorship.