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Background: Keloid, a prevalent pathological skin lesion, presents significant challenges in terms of treatment efficacy. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), an increasingly popular adjuvant treatment, has shown significant potential in the management of various disorders, including cancer. However, the therapeutic potential of indocyanine green-mediated photodynamic therapy (ICG-PDT) for keloids has not yet been demonstrated. Methods: In this study, we divided the experimental groups into control group, Photothermal Therapy group, Photodynamic Therapy group, and Combined Therapy group. The in vitro investigation aimed to optimize the clinical application of PDT for keloid treatment by elucidating its underlying mechanism. Subsequently, on this basis, we endeavored to manage a clinical case of keloid by employing surgical intervention in conjunction with modified ICG-PDT. Results: Our investigation revealed an unexpected outcome that ICG-PDT maximally inhibited the cellular activity and migration of keloid fibroblasts only when photodynamic mechanism took effect. Additionally, the induction of autophagy and apoptosis, as well as the inhibition of collagen synthesis, were particularly evident in this experimental group. Furthermore, the above therapeutic effect could be achieved at remarkably low drug concentrations. Building upon the aforementioned experimental findings, we successfully optimized the treatment modality for the latest case and obtained a more favorable treatment outcome. Conclusions: This study investigated the mechanism of ICG-PDT treatment and optimized the in vivo treatment regimen, demonstrating the significant therapeutic potential of ICG-PDT treatment in clinical keloid treatment.

Port-wine stains are congenital vascular malformations that affect the quality of life of children and their parents. This study used the Family Dermatology Life Quality Index and Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index to examine the effects of port-wine stains on the quality of life of children and their parents, including an in-depth, systematic analysis of the moderating effects of the children’s sex and port-wine stain classification. The study included 43 children (25 girls and 18 boys) and their parents. The presence of a port-wine stain had a significantly greater impact on the quality of life of mothers than on that of fathers (p

Background: The efficacy and safety of upadacitinib and dupilumab for atopic dermatitis (AD) in adolescent patients have been proven in clinical trials. However, few daily practice studies comparing agents have been conducted in this patient population. Objectives: This single-center retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the efficacy, safety, and early relapse after cessation of upadacitinib and dupilumab for moderate-to-severe AD in Chinese adolescents. Methods: A retrospective study collected data on a cohort of 83 adolescent patients receiving upadacitinib or dupilumab from October 2021 to October 2023. This study comprised two main emphases. The first main emphasis involved the treatment phase, where the efficacy and safety of the two treatments were evaluated. Primary endpoints included the proportion of patients achieving an improvement of ≥50%, ≥75%, and ≥90% in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) from baseline (EASI-50, EASI-75, EASI-90) and the proportion of patients achieving Validated Investigator Global Assessment (vIGA) 0/1 at week 4 and week 40. In the second main emphasis, AD recurrence after treatment discontinuation was assessed in the two treatment groups. The median time to relapse was calculated. Results: A total of 83 patients were enrolled. At week 4, the proportion of patients achieving the primary endpoints, including EASI-75 and EASI-90, was substantially higher with upadacitinib than with dupilumab (51.5% vs 14.0% [P < 0.001], 18.2% vs 2.0% [P < 0.05]). However, at week 40, higher proportion of patients on dupilumab were reaching EASI-50 and EASI-75 and vIGA 0/1. After the discontinuation of dupilumab or upadacitinib therapy, the Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the median time to relapse was 270 days in the dupilumab group and 18 days in the upadacitinib group. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that upadacitinib has superior short-term efficacy over dupilumab in adolescents with moderate-to-severe AD, whereas dupilumab trends toward better long-term remission over upadacitinib under the condition of treatment discontinuation in some patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease that affects patients’ quality of life, especially in the pediatric population. Dupilumab has shown good efficacy and safety in the treatment of AD in adolescents and adults, but the real data on younger children using dupilumab are scarce. Objectives: We investigated the doses, efficacy, and safety of dupilumab in children with moderate-to-severe AD aged ‡6 months to 11 years. Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort analysis included dupilumab-treated patients with severe AD under 12 years of age. Primary endpoints included the proportion of Validated Investigator Global Assessment (vIGA) 0/1 achieved and the percentage change from baseline in eczema area and severity index (EASI) and SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) at week 24 (W24). Secondary endpoints were mean change in pruritus numerical rating score (PNRS) and body surface area (BSA) after W24 of treatment, description of adverse events, and Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) improvement from baseline in endpoints. Results: Fifty-seven patients were included (mean age 7.2-3.0 years). The primary endpoint (vIGA = 0/1) was achieved by 51 of 57 (89.5%) patients at W24. Significant improvements in EASI, SCORAD, P-NRS, and CDLQI scores were observed from baseline to W24 with dupilumab treatment and remained until W40. In different age groups, the endpoint vIGA achieved 0/1: 95.2% (20/21) of younger children and 88.9% (32/36) of older children. No serious adverse drug reactions were reported. Conclusions: This study aimed to describe the safety and efficacy of dupilumab in pediatric patients and examined differences of efficacy with various doses. The outcomes are comparable with those of existing clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid switching combines the strengths of electronic packet switching and high-speed optical circuit switching and is thus widely believed to be a cost-effective solution for current and future data center networks (DCNs). In designing a hybrid switching DCN, it is essential to know how many resources should be devoted to optical circuit switching and electronic packet switching so the performance requirements in both planes can be satisfied, and, at the same time, objectives such as minimizing the overall system building cost or the power consumption can be realized. In this paper, we introduce BLOC, the Blocking LOss Curve, as a tool to characterize hybrid switching DCNs. With BLOC, the three interacting components in hybrid switching systems-resource allocation, traffic partitioning, and system performance-can be naturally integrated and studied together. We show how BLOC can be used to obtain feasible resource allocation/traffic partition combinations. We also show how system parameters, such as flow arrival characteristics, may affect resource allocation and system costs. Our study reveals that the total amount of resource required to satisfy 95th percentile traffic can be as low as 60% of that required for 99.9th percentile traffic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]