Publications by authors named "Steven T G Thng"

Article Synopsis
  • * A new non-invasive technique called multispectral Raster-Scanning Optoacoustic Mesoscopy (ms-RSOM) is being tested to objectively measure the severity of psoriasis by analyzing skin features, including blood volume and oxygen levels.
  • * Early results indicate that ms-RSOM can differentiate skin inflammation levels based on metrics like epidermal thickness and blood volume, and it has shown promise in tracking treatment effectiveness, highlighting its potential for regular clinical use.
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Quantitative evaluation of vitiligo is crucial for assessing treatment response. Dermatologists evaluate vitiligo regularly to adjust their treatment plans, which requires extra work. Furthermore, the evaluations may not be objective due to inter- and intra-assessor variability.

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Background: Eblasakimab, an interleukin (IL)-13 receptor α1 antagonist, blocks IL-4 and IL-13 signaling through the type 2 receptor.

Objective: The safety and efficacy of eblasakimab was evaluated in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD).

Methods: In this phase 1b randomized, double-blinded study, 52 patients with moderate-to-severe AD received weekly subcutaneous injections of eblasakimab 200, 400, or 600 mg, or placebo for 8 weeks.

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Article Synopsis
  • A handheld, non-invasive confocal Raman system was used to study skin differences in people with atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis, which are both inflammatory skin conditions.
  • The study found that the amount of water in the skin decreases in the order of healthy, psoriasis, and AD, indicating varying levels of hydration.
  • Additionally, the research showed differing levels of ceramides and cholesterol between the skin types, which could help in accurately classifying these conditions and developing targeted topical treatments.
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Background: Skin diseases impact significantly on the quality of life and psychology of patients. Obesity has been observed as a risk factor for skin diseases. Skin epidermal barrier dysfunctions are typical manifestations across several dermatological disturbances.

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form the dominant eukaryotic microbial community on the human skin. The genus possesses a repertoire of secretory hydrolytic enzymes involved in protein and lipid metabolism which alter the external cutaneous environment. The exact role of most secreted enzymes, including those in interaction with the epithelial surface, is not well characterized.

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Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic and pruritic skin inflammatory disease causing a significant burden to health care management and patient's quality of life. Seemingly healthy skin or non-lesional sites on AD patients still presents skin barrier defects and immune response, which can develop to AD at a later stage. To investigate further the balance between the epidermal barrier impairment and intrinsic immune dysregulation in AD, we exploited multispectral Raster-Scanning Optoacoustic Mesoscopy (ms-RSOM) to image lesional and non-lesional skin areas on AD patients of different severities non-invasively to elucidate their structural features and functional information.

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The ability to monitor oxygen delivery in microvasculature plays a vital role in measuring the viability of skin tissue and the probability of recovery. Using currently available clinical imaging tools, it is difficult to observe non-invasive hemodynamic regulation in the peripheral vessels. Here we propose the use of a novel multispectral raster-scanning optoacoustic mesoscopy (RSOM) system for noninvasive clinical monitoring of hemodynamic changes in the skin microvasculature's oxy- (HbO) and deoxy-hemoglobin (Hb), total hemoglobin (HbT) and oxygen saturation (rsO).

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Population studies suggest that atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with an increased risk of obesity, however a causal relationship between these two conditions remains to be established. We therefore use Mendelian randomization (MR) to evaluate whether obesity and AD are causally interlinked. We used summary statistics extracted from genome wide association studies of Body Mass Index (BMI) and AD.

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Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease. Skin barrier defects contribute to disease initiation and development; however, underlying mechanisms remain elusive.

Objective: To understand the underlying cause of barrier defect, we investigated aberrant expression of specific microRNAs (miRNAs) in AD.

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Background: We developed the first-of-its-kind handheld confocal Raman spectroscopy (CRS) system to quantify the concentration of natural moisturizing factors in the skin.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of our handheld CRS system and propose a novel quantitative index to measure skin barrier function.

Methods: This prospective study included 30 atopic dermatitis (AD) patients and 14 healthy volunteers.

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Background: The visual assessment and severity grading of acne vulgaris by physicians can be subjective, resulting in inter- and intra-observer variability.

Objective: To develop and validate an algorithm for the automated calculation of the Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) scale, to standardize acne severity and outcome measurements.

Materials And Methods: A total of 472 photographs (retrieved 01/01/2004-04/08/2017) in the frontal view from 416 acne patients were used for training and testing.

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Raster Scanning Optoacoustic Mesoscopy (RSOM) is a novel optoacoustic imaging modality that offers non-invasive, label-free, high resolution (~7 μm axial, ~30 μm lateral) imaging up to 1 to 2 mm below the skin, providing novel quantitative insights into skin pathophysiology. As the RSOM image contrast mechanism is based on light absorption, it is expected that the amount of melanin present in the skin will affect RSOM images. However, the effect of skin tone in the performance of RSOM has not been addressed so far.

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Non-tumorous skin pigmentation disorders can have a huge negative emotional impact on patients. The correct diagnosis of these disorders is essential for proper treatments to be instituted. In this paper, we present a computerized method for classifying five non-tumorous skin pigmentation disorders (i.

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Background/objectives: Controversy persists as to whether lichen planus pigmentosus and ashy dermatosis are separate clinical entities. This study was conducted to examine the clinicopathological features and treatment outcome of the two conditions.

Methods: A retrospective medical chart review of all patients who were diagnosed with lichen planus pigmentosus or ashy dermatosis was conducted.

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This randomized clinical trial evaluates the use of atorvastatin combined with narrowband UV-B therapy vs narrowband UV-B therapy alone in adult patients with active vitiligo.

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Currently, imaging technologies that enable dermsurgeons to visualize non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) preoperatively are lacking, resulting in excessive or incomplete removal. Multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) is a volumetric imaging tool to differentiate tissue chromophores and exogenous contrast agents, based on differences in their spectral signatures and used for high-resolution imaging of functional and molecular contrast at centimeter scale depth. We performed MSOT imaging with two- and three-dimensional handheld scanners on 21 Asian patients with NMSC.

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The Vitiligo Global Issues Consensus Conference (VGICC), through an international e-Delphi consensus, concluded that 'repigmentation' and 'maintenance of gained repigmentation' are essential core outcome measures in future vitiligo trials. This VGICC position paper addresses these core topics in two sections and includes an atlas depicting vitiligo repigmentation patterns and color match. The first section delineates mechanisms and characteristics of vitiligo repigmentation, and the second section summarizes the outcomes of international meeting discussions and two e-surveys on vitiligo repigmentation, which had been carried out over 3 yr.

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