Efficacy and Safety of 5-Fluorouracil Tattooing to Repigment Idiopathic Guttate Hypomelanosis: A Split-Body Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUD: Idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis (IGH) is a common skin disorder with no standard treatment. OBJECTIVE: Assess the efficacy and safety of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) compared with saline, delivered using a tattoo machine, to repigment IGH lesions. METHODS: This split-body randomized single-blinded trial recruited adults with symmetrical IGH lesions. A tattoo machine was used to deliver 5FU in IGH lesions of 1 limb and saline in the contralateral limb. Outcomes were the number of achromic lesions 30 days after treatment compared with baseline, patient satisfaction, and local or systemic adverse events. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients (28 women) were included. The median number of achromic lesions decreased significantly in 5FU-treated limbs (baseline: 32, interquartile range (IQR) 23-37 × post-treatment: 12, IQR 6-18, p = .000003) and saline-treated limbs (baseline: 31, IQR 24-43 × post-treatment: 21, IQR 16-31, p = .000006), but reduction was significantly more pronounced in 5FU-treated limbs ( p = .00003). All participants were satisfied or very satisfied with results on 5FU-treated limbs. There were no adverse events. CONCLUSION: 5-fluorouracil delivery using a tattoo machine was more effective than saline to repigment IGH lesions, with high patient satisfaction and no adverse events.Clinicaltrials.gov : NCT02904564.

Unveiling idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis: pathology, immunohistochemistry, and ultrastructural study.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis (IGH) is a pigment disorder of unknown etiology. Despite its high prevalence and the unaesthetic appearance of the lesions, there are relatively few histological studies on this disorder. This is an important gap to understanding its pathogenesis. OBJECTIVES: To assess the microscopic structure of IGH lesions compared to normal adjacent skin areas and the possible interaction between melanocytes and the subjacent dermis. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we took biopsy specimens of hypochromic lesions and adjacent normal skin from 20 patients with IGH. We analyzed the fragments using routine stains, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. RESULTS: We found superficial dermal fibrosis in 90% (18/20) of our IGH cases and unreported keratinocyte cytoplasmic changes on electron microscopy. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest an interaction between melanocytes and the subjacent dermis in IGH. These findings can help to understand melanocyte biology and the pathogenesis of other achromic lesions.

Is it possible to repigment iatrogenic and traumatic hypochromic lesions? A case series using the MMP® drug delivery technique with 5-fluorouracil and bleomycin.

OBJECTIVES: We present the results of 11 patients with hypochromic lesions treated with antifibrotic agents delivered through the MMP® technique. METHODS: Eleven patients with hypochromic lesions because of external injuries were treated at a single clinic with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and/or bleomycin using the MMP® drug delivery technique. Treatment sessions were repeated at 30-day intervals until patient satisfaction. The primary outcome was repigmentation of the lesions, assessed independently by two dermatologists and by the patient. RESULTS: The MMP® technique injected 0.048 mg/cm2 of 5-FU or 0.0028 U/cm2 of bleomycin. The accumulated 5-FU and bleomycin density per patient ranged from 0.02 to 0.77 mg and 0.0022 to 0.2800 U/ml, respectively. Patients were treated with 1 to 6 MMP® sessions with 5-FU (3 patients), bleomycin (6 patients), or both drugs (2 patients). After the last session, all patients had a significant improvement (>75%) of the lesions compared to baseline. There were no procedure-related short- or long-term adverse effects in any of the participants up to their last follow-up visit. CONCLUSIONS: The injection of antifibrotic agents using the MMP® technique was effective and safe in the treatment of hypochromic lesions. This can be a new therapeutic option for these lesions.

Original Method to Repigment Achromic Laser Tattoo Removal Scars.

Laser tattoo removal is expensive, painful, and time-consuming. Even with the use of the right laser equipment, it is often impossible to eliminate all pigments. Incomplete tattoo removal, one of the undesired effects of laser treatment, is widely disseminated in the media and accepted by most patients. However, few patients know that laser tattoo removal can cause permanent scars. Some patients who develop achromic scars can feel disappointed with the results of laser tattoo removal and take legal action against the physician responsible for the treatment. This paper describes our experience with a drug delivery treatment called MMP® ("Microinfusão de Medicamentos na Pele," Portuguese acronym for "Microinfusion of Drugs in the Skin") that repigments and improves the final esthetic results of achromic laser tattoo removal scars.

How much medication is delivered in a novel drug delivery technique that uses a tattoo machine?

BACKGROUND: Even though dermatologists often perform drug delivery procedures, it is necessary to assess their safety. OBJECTIVE: Quantify the amount of medication delivered using the MMP drug delivery technique and outline other safety parameters. METHODS: Using a simple and novel technique, we attempted to quantify the amount of medication delivered by weighing human skin samples before and after delivery. RESULTS: In drug delivery done on human skin using a liquid with a density of 1,271,460 µg/ml (the values expressed in this manuscript are in µg), a needling density of 570 perforations/cm2 , and a needling depth of 300 microns, we estimate that 1,175 µg/cm2 were delivered (standard deviation 601 µg/cm2 , standard error 190 µg/cm2 ). LIMITATIONS: This result is only applicable to the protocol proposed in this study for the MMP drug delivery technique. CONCLUSION: The MMP drug delivery technique injects small amounts of medication (1,175 µg/cm2 ) homogeneously into the dermis.

Tratamento de psoríase vulgar pela microinfusão de medicamentos na pele (MMP®) usando ciclosporina e metotrexato / Treatment of psoriasis vulgaris with cyclosporine and methotrexate injections using the MMP® technique

Medicações sistêmicas orais como ciclosporina (CYA) ou metotrexato (MTX) para tratamento de psoríase tem biodisponibilidade limitada devido à absorção incompleta gastrointestinal e metabolização de primeira passagem hepática. Além disso, estão associados a efeitos adversos. A aplicação de CYA ou MTX através da Microinfusão de Medicamentos pela pele (MMP®) para tratamento de psoríase vulgar mostrou resposta terapêutica com redução significativa de lesões, sem indução de efeitos colaterais. Neste relato, descrevemos 4 casos de psoríase vulgar tratados com MMP® com CYA ou MTX.

Systemic oral medications ­ such as cyclosporine (CYA) or methotrexate (MTX) ­ for the treatment of psoriasis have limited bioavailability due to incomplete gastrointestinal absorption and first-pass hepatic metabolism. Moreover, they are associated with adverse effects. The application of CYA or MTX using the microinfusion of drugs into the skin method (MMP®) for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris yielded a therapeutic response with significant reduction of lesions, and absence of side effects. In the present report, the authors describe 4 cases of psoriasis vulgaris treated using the MMP® method, with the application of CYA or MTX.

Microinfusão de medicamentos na pele através de máquina de tatuagem / Microinfusion of drugs into the skin with tattoo equipment

Tatuagem é o resultado da introdução de pigmentos na pele ou em mucosas. Pigmentos são substâncias químicas que se comportam como marcadores ópticos. Sua visualização por transparência epitelial é prova incontestável de que a perfusão cutânea através de microperfurações é procedimento eficaz. Escolheu-se esse método para infundir sulfato de bleomicina em duas pacientes portadoras de lesões queloideanas utilizando os equipamentos e consumíveis empregados por tatuadores profissionais, com adaptações para uso dermatológico de forma asséptica e racional.

A tattoo results from the introduction of pigments into the skin or mucous membranes. Pigments are chemical substances that behave like optical markers. Their visibility (through epithelial transparency) is undeniable proof that cutaneous perfusion with micro-perforations is an effective procedure. This method was used to infuse Bleomycin sulfate in two patients bearing keloid lesions, employing the same equipment and components used by professional tattoo artists, with adaptations for dermatological use, and strictly observing aseptical and rational requirements