Investigator-blinded, controlled, and randomized comparative study on 1565 nm non-ablative fractional laser versus 5% minoxidil for treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

BACKGROUND: Characterized by progressive hair loss due to an excessive response to androgens, androgenetic alopecia (AGA) affects up to 50% of males and females. Minoxidil is one of approved medications for AGA but inadequate responses occur in many patients. AIMS: To determine whether 1565 nm non-ablative fractional laser (NAFL) could yield better therapeutic benefits for patients with AGA as compared with 5% minoxidil. METHODS: Thirty patients with AGA were enrolled; they were randomly assigned into the laser or minoxidil treatment groups. For the laser treatment group, patients were treated by 1565 nm NAFL at 10 mJ, 250 spots/cm2 with 2 weeks intervals for 4 sessions in total. For the minoxidil treatment group, 1-milliliter of topical 5% minoxidil solution was applied to hair loss area twice a day. RESULTS: The primary outcomes were the changes in numerous hair growth indexes at the Week 10 as compared with the baselines. Both 1565 nm NAFL and 5% minoxidil led to significantly greater hair densities and diameters in patients at the Week 10 than the baselines (p < 0.01). As compared with 5% minoxidil, 1565 nm NAFL showed significantly greater improvements in total hair number, total hair density (hair/cm2), terminal hair number, terminal hair density (hair/cm2), number of hair follicle units, and average hair number/number of hair follicle units. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that 1565 nm NAFL exhibits superior clinical efficacy in some aspects of hair growth to the topical minoxidil. It is a safe and effective modality in treating AGA.

Clinical characteristics and heterogeneity of generalized pustular psoriasis: A comparative study in a large retrospective cohort.

Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a rare and potentially life-threatening skin disease and the clinical heterogeneity of which is largely unknown. Retrospective cohort analysis was conducted on hospitalized GPP patients between January 2010 and November 2022. A total of 416 patients with GPP and psoriasis vulgaris (PV) respectively were included, matched 1:1 by sex and age. The heterogeneity of GPP was stratified by PV history and age. Compared with PV, GPP was significantly associated with prolonged hospitalization (11.7 vs. 10.3 day, p < 0.001), elevated neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (5.93 vs. 2.44, p < 0.001) and anemia (13.9% vs. 1.2%, p < 0.001). Moreover, GPP alone (without PV history) was a relatively severer subtype with higher temperature (37.6°C vs. 38.0°C, p = 0.002) and skin infections (5.2% vs. 11.4%, p = 0.019) than GPP with PV. For patients across different age, compared with juvenile patients, clinical features support a severer phenotype in middle-aged, including higher incidence of anaemia (7.5% vs. 16.0%, p = 0.023) and NLR score (3.83 vs. 6.88, p < 0.001). Interleukin-6 (r = 0.59), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = -0.56), albumin (r = -0.53) and C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (r = 0.49) were the most relevant markers of severity in GPP alone, GPP with PV, juvenile and middle-aged GPP, respectively. This retrospective cohort suggests that GPP is highly heterogeneous and GPP alone and middle-aged GPP exhibit severe disease phenotypes. More attention on the heterogeneity of this severe disease is warranted to meet the unmet needs and promote the individualized management of GPP.

A randomized, controlled trial of intense pulsed light in combination with minocycline hydrochloride for the treatment of inflammatory acne vulgaris.

BACKGROUND: It has been a long-term debate over the concomitant treatment of inflammatory acne vulgaris using intense pulsed light (IPL) and minocycline due to the photosensitivity of minocycline. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficiency of IPL combined with minocycline in treating acne vulgaris in a randomized trial. METHODS: A total of 40 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned into two groups which were either given minocycline (100 mg per day) for 8 weeks with IPL treatments three times at weeks 0, 4, and 8, or the same dosage of minocycline only. The evaluations for inflammatory lesion count, Investigator Global Assessment of Acne (IGA), erythema, and purpura indexes were taken before treatment and at weeks 4, 8, and 16. RESULTS: There were significant improvements in inflammatory lesion count, IGA scores, and purpura index in both groups as compared with the baseline at week 16 (p < 0.02). The concomitant therapy, but not minocycline only, significantly improved the erythema index (p = 0.40) at the 16th week as compared with the baseline. The group with combined treatment showed significantly continuous improvements in inflammatory lesion counts (p < 0.04) and IGA scores (p ≤ 0.02) at weeks 4, 8, and 16 as compared with the group given minocycline only. No severe adverse effects were observed during the trial. CONCLUSION: IPL in combination with minocycline shows a better clinical efficacy for the treatment of inflammatory acne vulgaris than minocycline alone, and it is safe.

Moso Bamboo Invasion Reshapes Community Structure of Denitrifying Bacteria in Rhizosphere of Alsophila spinulosa.

The uncontrolled invasion of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) dramatically alters soil nitrogen cycling and destroys the natural habitat of Alsophila spinulosa. Nevertheless, no clear evidence points out the role of denitrifying bacteria in the invasion of bamboo into the habitat of A. spinulosa. In the present study, we found that low (importance value 0.0008), moderate (0.6551), and high (0.9326) bamboo invasions dramatically altered the underground root biomass of both P. pubescens and A. spinulosa. The root biomass of A. spinulosa was maximal at moderate invasion, indicating that intermediate disturbance might contribute to the growth and survival of the colonized plant. Successful bamboo invasion significantly increased rhizospheric soil available nitrogen content of A. spinulosa, coupled with elevated denitrifying bacterial abundance and diversity. Shewanella, Chitinophaga, and Achromobacter were the primary genera in the three invasions, whereas high bamboo invasion harbored more denitrifying bacteria and higher abundance than moderate and low invasions. Further correlation analysis found that most soil denitrifying bacteria were positively correlated with soil organic matter and available nitrogen but negatively correlated with pH and water content. In addition, our findings illustrated that two denitrifying bacteria, Chitinophaga and Sorangium, might be essential indicators for evaluating the effects of bamboo invasion on the growth of A. spinulosa. Collectively, this study found that moso bamboo invasion could change the nitrogen cycling of colonized habitats through alterations of denitrifying bacteria and provided valuable perspectives for profound recognizing the invasive impacts and mechanisms of bamboo expansion.

Botulinum toxin type A for the management of hidradenitis suppurativa.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, recurrent, inflammatory skin disease that centers around the hair follicle and occurs as a result of follicular occlusion. HS primarily presents as painful, inflamed lesions that begin during puberty and occur most commonly in areas with numerous apocrine glands. The etiology and pathogenesis of HS involve internal and external factors, including genetic susceptibility, inflammation and immunity, microorganisms, obesity, and smoking. Management of HS is difficult, and the current aim of treatment is to control the frequency and duration of disease flare-ups and improve the quality of life. Medical treatments include antibiotics, retinoids, biologics, immunosuppressive agents, and antiandrogen agents. Adjuvant treatment includes surgery, laser, and light therapy. However, the efficacy of these treatment modalities varies from person to person. In recent years, related reports have shown that injection of botulinum toxin type A has a positive effect in the management of HS. This article reviews the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and traditional treatment methods for the management of HS and investigates the use of botulinum toxin type A as a treatment option for this disease.

A retrospective analysis for facial telangiectasia treatment using pulsed dye laser and intense pulsed light configured with different wavelength bands.

BACKGROUND: Facial telangiectasia is one of the common skin vascular lesions characterized by dilated cutaneous vasculatures. The variety of diameters and difference in depths of lesional blood vessels are the major challenges for effective treatments for Facial telangiectasia. AIMS: To compare the efficacy and safety profiles of pulsed dye laser (PDL, 595 nm) with intense pulsed light (IPL) configured by three different wavelength bands in the treatment for facial telangiectasia in Asian populations. PATIENTS/METHODS: A retrospective analysis of hospital records and review on photographs were performed for those subjects with facial telangiectasia (n = 160) who were treated in our department from January 2017 to January 2019. Patients were received two sessions of one of the four following laser treatments: PDL (595 nm, n = 38), IPL with M22 vascular filter (530-650 nm and 900-1200 nm, n = 39), M22 560 (560-1200 nm, n = 42), and M22 590 (590-1200 nm, n = 41). RESULTS: The patients in all the four groups showed an overall and significant improvement of indexes of lesional severity and subjective discomfort as well as improvement score of facial telangiectasia after treatment as compared to baseline. In addition, PDL (595 nm) and IPL with vascular filter (530-650 nm and 900-1200 nm) treatments showed significantly better indexes of lesional severity, subjective discomfort, and improvement score of facial telangiectasia as compared with other two treatments. CONCLUSION: Light devices with various wavelength ranges showed different efficacies of treatment for facial telangiectasia, among which PDL (595 nm) and IPL with M22 vascular filter (530-650 nm and 900-1200 nm) had similar and the best clinical efficacy as compared to IPL with other wavelength bands.

Chemoenzymatically synthesized GM3 analogues as potential therapeutic agents to recover nervous functionality after injury by inducing neurite outgrowth.

Ganglioside GM3 is implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Due to GM3 exposes on the outer surface of cell membranes, it is strongly associated with cell adhesion, motility and differentiation. Neurite outgrowth is a key process in the development of functional neuronal circuits and regeneration of the nervous system after injury. In the present study, we used enzymatic hydrolysis and chemical synthesis to obtain novel galactose containing GM3 analogues. By enzymatic hydrolysis to prepare GM3 building block, we can avoid multiple chemical procedures. Next, we employed the PC12 cells as a model to evaluate the effects of GM3 analogues on neurite outgrowth with or without NGF induction. The biological tests showed that GM3 analogues could induce neurite outgrowth, which provides the valuable sights for potential nervous system treatment after injury.

Structure analysis of a novel heteroxylan from the stem of Dendrobium officinale and anti-angiogenesis activities of its sulfated derivative.

Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo (Tie-Pi-Shi-Hu), a precious folk medicine exhibiting multiple bioactivities, including antitumor, immune-enhancing and so on. Although evidences showed polysaccharide is one of the major bioactive substances from this herb, several of them were homogenous with fine structures elucidated. In this study, we showed a novel homogeneous heteroxylan obtained from alkali-extracted crude polysaccharide. It composed of arabinose, xylose, glucose and 4-O-methylglucuronic acid (4-MGA) as well as trace amount of rhamnose and galactose in a ratio of 8.9:62.7:8.5:12.3:3.9:3.7. We further showed that it contained a backbone of 1,4-linked ß-d-xylan, with branches of 1,4-linked α-d-glucose, 1,3-linked α-l-rhamnose, and terminal-linked α-l-arabinose, ß-d-galactose, 4-MGA, and ß-d-xylose directly or indirectly attached to C-2 position of glycosyl residues on backbone. The sulfated derivative with substitution degree about 0.9 was prepared according to the chlorosulfonic acid (CSA)-pyridine method. Bioactivity tests suggested that the sulfated polysaccharide could significantly disrupt tube formation and inhibit the migration of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) at a low concentration (0.29µM) in a dose-dependent way without significant cytotoxity.

Efficient synthesis of chloro-derivatives of sialosyllactosylceramide, and their enhanced inhibitory effect on epidermal growth factor receptor activation.

Glycosphingolipids are components of essentially all mammalian cell membranes and are involved in a variety of significant cellular functions, including proliferation, adhesion, motility and differentiation. Sialosyllactosylceramide (GM3) is known to inhibit the activation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In the present study, an efficient method for the total chemical synthesis of monochloro- and dichloro-derivatives of the sialosyl residue of GM3 was developed. The structures of the synthesized compounds were fully characterized by high-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. In analyses of EGFR autophosphorylation and cell proliferation ([3H]-thymidine incorporation) in human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells, two chloro-derivatives exhibited stronger inhibitory effects than GM3 on EGFR activity. Monochloro-GM3, but not GM3 or dichloro-GM3, showed a significant inhibitory effect on ΔEGFR, a splicing variant of EGFR that lacks exons 2-7 and is often found in human glioblastomas. The chemical synthesis of other GM3 derivatives using approaches similar to those described in the present study, has the potential to create more potent EGFR inhibitors to block cell growth or motility of a variety of types of cancer that express either wild-type EGFR or ΔEGFR.

Synthesis and cytotoxicity assay of four ganglioside GM3 analogues.

A concise and efficient synthetic route for preparation of four ganglioside GM3 analogues was described. The key step is a highly regioselective and stereoselective α-sialylation from a suitably protected glycoside acceptor with a sialyl xanthate to provide the sialo-oligosaccharide in good yield. The cytotoxic properties of the synthetic gangliosides were evaluated against normal human keratinocytes and human HCT116 and K562 cancer cells. Two of them exhibited good antiproliferative activity and displayed a better cytotoxicity against cancer cell than HaCaT normal cell.

Isoforsythiaside, an antioxidant and antibacterial phenylethanoid glycoside isolated from Forsythia suspensa.

The isolation, structural elucidation, antioxidant effect and antibacterial activity of isoforsythiaside, a novel phenylethanoid glycoside isolated from Forsythia suspensa, were described. The antioxidant activity was estimated using the 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity method and the in vitro antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the microtitre plate method. The results showed that this compound had strong activities. Owing to these properties, the study can be further extended to exploit for the possible application of isoforsythiaside as the alternative antioxidants and antibacterial agents from natural origin.

Antioxidant and antibacterial activity of two compounds (forsythiaside and forsythin) isolated from Forsythia suspensa.

Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl. has been widely used in traditional medicines in Asia to treat gonorrhoea, erysipelas, inflammation, pyrexia, ulcer and other diseases. Recently the investigation has been focused on the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of this plant. However, limited scientifically proven information is available. We isolated two compounds (forsythiaside and forsythin) from this plant. The aims of this investigation, therefore, were to assay antioxidant activity and antibacterial properties of the two main and distinctive compounds isolated and to exploit antioxidants and antibacterial agents from natural compounds. The antioxidant activity was estimated using the 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity method and the in-vitro antimicrobial activity was evaluated by microtitre plate method. Forsythiaside was found to possess strong antioxidant and antibacterial activity but forsythin was much weaker. Owing to these properties, the study can be further extended to exploit the possible application of forsythiaside as an alternative antioxidant and antibacterial agent of natural origin.