Xiangdong Chen

BACKGROUND: No studies have compared fractional microplasma radio frequency (RF) technology with the carbon dioxide fractional laser system (CO2 FS) in the treatment of atrophic acne scars in the same patient. OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and safety of fractional microplasma RF with CO2 FS in the treatment of atrophic acne scars. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Thirty-three Asian patients received three sessions of a randomized split-face treatment of fractional microplasma RF or CO2 FS. RESULTS: Both modalities had a roughly equivalent effect. Échelle d'Évaluation Clinique Des Cicatrices d'Acné scores were significantly lower after fractional microplasma RF (from 51.1 ± 14.2 to 22.3 ± 8.6, 56.4% improvement) and CO2 FS (from 48.8 ± 15.1 to 19.9 ± 7.9, 59.2% improvement) treatments. There was no statistically significant difference between the two therapies. Twelve subjects (36.4%) experienced postinflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) after 30 of 99 treatment sessions (30.3%) on the CO2 FS side and no PIH was observed on the fractional microplasma RF sides. CONCLUSION: Both modalities have good effects on treating atrophic scars. PIH was not seen with the fractional microplasma RF, which might make it a better choice for patients with darker skin.

Developing bioactive hydrogels with potential to guide the differentiation behavior of stem cells has become increasingly important in the biomaterials field. Here, silk hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties were developed by introducing inert silk fibroin nanofibers (SNF) within an enzyme crosslinked system of regenerated silk fibroin (RSF). After the crosslinking reaction of RSF, the inert SNF was embedded into the RSF hydrogel matrix, resulting in improved mechanical properties. Tunable stiffness in the range of 9-60 KPa was achieved by adjusting the amount of the added NSF, significantly higher than SNF-free hydrogels formed under same conditions (about 1 KPa). In addition, the proliferation of rat bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells cultured on the composite hydrogels and differentiated into endothelial cells, myoblast and osteoblast cells was improved, putatively due to the control of stiffness of the hydrogels. Bioactive and tunable silk-based hydrogels were prepared via a composite SNF and crosslinked RSF system, providing a new strategy to design silk biomaterials with tunable mechanical and biological performance.

Interleukin- (IL-) 22 is the signature cytokine of T-helper (Th) 22 cells, and IL-23 is required for IL-22 production. The objective of this study was to examine the immunoexpression of IL-22 and IL-23 in archival paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens from oral LP (n = 42) and cutaneous LP (n = 38) against normal control tissues. The results showed that the percentage of cells expressing IL-22 and IL-23 in LP were significantly higher in LP compared to controls, respectively (both P < 0.001). The correlation between IL-22 and IL-23 expression was significant (P < 0.05). Moreover, the percentage of cells expressing IL-22 and IL-23 in oral LP were significantly higher than cutaneous LP (P < 0.05). Collectively, our findings demonstrated that the increased expression of IL-22 and IL-23 in LP lesions could play roles in the pathogenesis of LP. Moreover, oral LP expressing IL-22 and IL-23 was higher than cutaneous LP, probably due to Th22 cells as an important component of oral mucosal host defense against oral microbiota and tissue antigens. This may be associated with the difference in clinical behaviour of the two variants of the disease.