Laser therapy for refractory discoid lupus erythematosus when everything else has failed.

Background: Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is restricted to the skin, mostly the face, often chronic and disfiguring. Standard medical therapies include topical corticosteroids and antimalarials. This is a retrospective long-term follow-up of refractory DLE treated with different lasers and intense pulsed light (IPL).

Improvement of microstomia in scleroderma after intense pulsed light: A case series of four patients.

Introduction: Intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment is well known for, for example, photo rejuvenation, where higher cut-off filters are used. The longer wavelengths penetrate deeper in the dermis leading to damage of the collagen and stimulation of new collagen formation, which lead to more soft and elastic skin. Microstomia in systemic sclerosis is the end result of excessive collagen deposition, which makes the perioral skin firm and tight.

Skin fluorescence controlled photodynamic photorejuvenation (wrinkle reduction).

Background: Identical skin fluorescence can be obtained after one hour spraying with 0.5% liposome-encapsulated 5-ALA and after 0.5 hour application of 20% 5-ALA in a cream base.

5-ALA for photodynamic photorejuvenation--optimization of treatment regime based on normal-skin fluorescence measurements.

Background And Objectives: Photodynamic therapy using 20% 5 aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) has recently been introduced as a new tool in optical skin rejuvenation. The primary objective of this study was to optimize incubation time, the topical delivery mechanism (vehicle) and the concentration of 5-ALA by detecting the dynamic changes of normal skin after 5-ALA application. The secondary objective was to develop a treatment regime which minimizes post-treatment photosensitivity.