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(1) Background: The emergence of microneedle patch technology and its development as a transdermal drug delivery platform have shown proven results in improving skin texture and appearance. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of the microneedle patch (MNP)-only cosmesis of undereye skin texture and wrinkles against patch cosmesis with diluted botulinum toxin-A. (2) Methods: A total of 23 Thai females volunteered for this prospective clinical trial. Each participant was treated according to a split-face design, with the application of diluted botulinum toxin-A through MNP technology to the right undereye and a normal saline MNP application to the left undereye. Test areas were recorded at baseline and 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after the initial treatment. (3) Results: Botulinum toxin-A was successfully delivered to the skin by MNP technology. After the initial treatment, these novel transdermal drug delivery patches significantly improved infraorbital hollowness at week 8 and wrinkles at week 16. In addition, the skin surface was markedly enhanced, with no adverse effects observed during the trial. (4) Conclusions: Novel MNPs are an effective and safe technology for use in the management of undereye skin aging. Combination treatment with botulinum toxin-A-impregnated devices gave a higher patient satisfaction than MNPs alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gut microbiome dysbiosis is associated with psoriasis development. A relationship between gut microbiota and psoriasis treatment response has been reported. No study has reported the effect of narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) therapy, a standard treatment of psoriasis, on gut microbiota. This study aimed to evaluate gut microbiota change during NBUVB therapy. Stool samples from 22 participants, including 13 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and nine healthy controls, were recruited. Faecal microbiota composition was analysed using 16S rRNA sequencing before and after NBUVB therapy. Serum 25‐OH vitamin D of patients with psoriasis was evaluated simultaneously. The most abundant phyla of gut microbiota in patients with psoriasis were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria in all participants. Bilophila, Paraprevotella, Alistipes, Sutterella, Romboutsia, Clostridium sensu stricto and Agathobacter are significantly more enriched in healthy controls. Lactobacillales and Ruminococus torques appeared more enriched after NBUVB treatment in responders but not non‐responders. Serum vitamin D levels significantly increased after NBUVB treatment. The present study revealed that gut microbiota altered after NBUVB treatment. The change might be treatment‐specific and influence the treatment response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alterations of collagen type 1, skin fibroblasts, and macrophages in the scalp following the treatment of 1550-nm erbium glass fractional laser for androgenetic alopecia Thus, we aimed to elucidate its mechanism by comparing collagen type 1, skin fibroblasts, and macrophages of specimens from scalps before and after laser treatments. Our study tried to evaluate the changes in collagen type 1, skin fibroblasts, and macrophages in the balding scalp areas of patients with improved hair regrowth, comparing pre- and post-treatment to reveal the mechanism of laser stimulating hair growth. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) affects both men and women, characterized by progressive hair thinning. While current treatments like minoxidil and finasteride have efficacy limitations and side effects, low-level light therapy (LLLT) using red or near-infrared light has emerged as a promising alternative. Recent animal studies suggest potential benefits from green LED light, though human data are sparse., Methods: This study utilized an innovative LED helmet emitting red and green LED light on respective halves of the frontal scalp, delivering an energy density of 40 J/cm 2 over 20 min. Clinical photography, physician evaluations on a 7-point scale, patient satisfaction, and measurements of hair density and hair diameter were employed. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models, with significance set at p < 0.05., Results: Seventeen participants (47.1% male, 52.9% female, average age 46.47 years) demonstrated notable improvements after 6 months of treatment. Red and green LEDs both significantly increased hair diameter, non-vellus hair density, and satisfaction scores. Notably, the red LED therapy resulted in a statistically significant decrease in vellus hair density and achieved a greater increase in hair diameter compared to the green LED therapy. Minimal adverse effects were reported, primarily consisting of tolerable scalp heat and mild redness., Conclusion: Both red and green LED therapies effectively enhanced hair growth, increasing density and thickness over 6 months. Red LED demonstrated superior improvements in specific measures. Consequently, both therapies present safe and viable alternatives for the management of AGA, expanding the repertoire of available treatment options., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

An equilibrium of skin microbiome is crucial for maintaining skin barrier function. However, external factors such as air pollution have the potential to disrupt this equilibrium. Hence, further investigation into the influence of air pollution on the skin microbiome emerges as a critical imperative. Healthy women matched for age from two different ambient air cities in Thailand: Bangkok, characterized by highly polluted air (HPA) (n = 33), and Songkhla, characterized by less polluted air (LPA) (n = 33) were recruited. Skin barrier physiological parameters were measured on the forehead skin. Microbiome samples were collected via the scraping and swabbing technique from the forehead skin and analyzed for microbiome profiles using amplicon sequencing. We found that the abundant microbiome at the phylum level was comparable between HPA- and LPA-exposed skin. However, microbiome diversity was decreased at genus level of fungus and species level of bacteria on HPA-exposed skin. Interestingly, some relatively higher enriched microbiome correlated with skin barrier physiological parameters. Specifically, a higher enrichment of Streptococcus parasanguinis on LPA-exposed skin correlated with both lower skin pH and higher stratum corneum (SC) hydration. Conversely, a higher enrichment of Malassezia spp. and Aureobasidum spp. on HPA-exposed skin was correlated with increased transepidermal water loss and decreased SC hydration, respectively. In conclusion, air pollution potentially affects the skin microbiome by reducing its diversity, disrupting its beneficial correlations with barrier physiology, and promoting the overgrowth of pathogenic microbiome, resulting in decreased hydration and increased pH levels. These factors could ultimately lead to skin barrier dysfunction., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This study presents a comprehensive comparative proteomic analysis aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying male androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and female AGA. Scalp samples from both male AGA and female AGA patients, along with their respective normal controls, were subjected to proteomic analysis, followed by bioinformatics investigations. Our findings revealed distinct proteomic profiles between male AGA and female AGA, with a total of 68 differentially expressed proteins identified in male AGA and 84 in female AGA. Among these, specific proteins were altered in male AGA and female AGA, highlighting the sex-specific molecular pathways involved in the pathogenesis of pattern hair loss. Protein-protein interaction network analyses further delineated the most impacted biological processes, including cytoskeleton organization, stress response, and metabolic pathways, with particular emphasis on the differing altered stress responses and metabolic states associated with hair loss between sexes. Our study not only uncovered the complex molecular landscape of male AGA and female AGA but also identified potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets, offering new insights into the sex-specific pathogenesis of pattern hair loss., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To identify the narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB)-induced molecular mechanisms that may account for their anti-inflammatory efficacy, gene expression and transcriptome profiling, which were performed using advanced molecular techniques., Methods: This research was conducted on patients with moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis who received NB-UVB treatment. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was conducted to assay the transcriptomes and identify the differentially expressed transcripts that had been enriched during the major pathway analysis., Results: Clinical improvement of psoriasis by NB-UVB therapy is linked to the suppression of the "immunological signaling pathways" and "cell cycle regulatory, growth and proliferation pathways" which are critical to the pathogenesis of the disease. In addition, these results were further substantiated by demonstrating that NB-UVB therapy has a significant effect on keratinocyte differentiation and affects the regulation of genes and inflammatory mediators that are related to cell proliferation and apoptosis. Moreover, NB-UVB phototherapy is also involved with the downregulation of toll-like receptors signaling in lesional psoriasis., Conclusion: NB-UVB is an effective treatment for psoriasis. Our study supports the conclusion that the clinical effectiveness of NB-UVB therapy is based on the suppression of a broad range of inflammatory signaling pathways, gene expression of inflammatory cytokines and increased expressions of anti-inflammatory signaling pathways in psoriatic skin. This is the first study that applied advanced molecular techniques to investigate phototherapy as a new key to unlock genetic knowledge and create novel information. Ultimately, the goal is to increase medical knowledge and improve the patient care of psoriasis., Competing Interests: The authors state no conflicts of interest., (© 2021 Vacharanukrauh et al.)

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease arising from a complex interaction between genetics, epigenetics, the host's immune system and the environment. Recent accumulated data revealed the dysregulation of various microRNAs (miRNAs) in several diseases including psoriasis., Objective: We explored the functional role and regulation of hsa-miR-155-5p (miR-155) in an immortalized keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT), in relation to the pathogenesis and treatment of psoriasis., Methods: miR-155 expression in normal skin and psoriatic skin lesion before and after treatment with methotrexate (MTX) and narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy (NB-UVB) were analyzed using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Apoptotic activity, cell cycle and viable cells of miR-155 transfected HaCaT were measured using flow cytometry and MTS assay. Since, caspase-3 (CASP3) gene was predicted as a target gene of miR-155, the expression of CASP3 was detected in transfected HaCaT using western blot., Results: We discovered that both MTX and NB-UVB significantly down-regulated miR-155 expression in psoriatic skin lesions. We also found that overexpression of miR-155 in HaCaT led to suppression of cell apoptosis and induced cell arrest at G0/G1 phase. Moreover, CASP3 expression was down-regulated in miR-155 transfected HaCaT., Conclusions: This study demonstrates down-regulation of miR155 after treatment with MTX and NB-UVB in psoriatic skin lesion. miR155 plays significant role in apoptosis on HaCaT via CASP3. This finding provides a better understanding of the pathogenesis of psoriasis and might aid on developing the new monitoring tool or therapy for psoriasis in the future.