Electromagnetic radiation, notably visible light (VL), has complicated effects on human skin, particularly pigmentation, which have been largely overlooked. In this review, we discuss the photobiological mechanisms, pathological effects, clinical applications and therapeutic strategies of VL at varying wavelengths on melanocyte biology and skin pigmentary disorders. Different VL wavelengths may impose positive or negative effects, depending on their interactions with specific chromophores, photoaging, ROS production, circadian rhythm and other photon-mediated reactions. Further in vivo and in vitro studies are required to establish the pathologic mechanisms and application principles of VL in pigmentary disorders, as well as optimal photoprotection with coverage against VL wavelengths.

Background: Dry eye disease (DED) is a complex ocular surface inflammatory disorder with a multifactorial etiology. Therapies such as intense pulsed light (IPL) and heated eye mask (HEM) have been reported to improve the tear film lipid layer (TFLL) and signs and symptoms of DED. Methods: This randomized study aimed to compare the effects of IPL combined with HEM (IPL+HEM) group, IPL group, and control group in participants with evaporative DED. All participants were examined at baseline (D0), day 21 (D21), day 42 (D42), and day 84 (D84) for noninvasive tear breakup time (NITBUT), TFLL, corneal conjunctival staining (CS), meibomian gland quality (MGQ), meibomian gland expressibility (MGEx), and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI). Results: The mean age of participants was IPL+HEM: 28.06 ± 3.88 years, IPL: 29.88 ± 4.68 years, and control: 28.52 ± 3.77 years. At D84, significant improvements in TFLL (p < 0.05), noninvasive tear breakup time (NITBUT) (p < 0.05), corneoconjunctival staining (CS) (p < 0.05), MGQ (p < 0.05), MGEx (p < 0.05), and OSDI (p < 0.05) were found in the IPL+HEM and IPL groups, whereas the control group had no significant improvements. Furthermore, ΔTFLL significantly correlated with ΔNITBUT (r = -0.678, p < 0.001), ΔCS (r = 0.321, p < 0.001), ΔMGQ (r = 0.669, p < 0.001), ΔMGEx (r = 0.598, p < 0.001), and ΔOSDI score (r = 0.649, p < 0.001). Conclusions: IPL therapy in combination with HEM and IPL therapy only can significantly improve the quality of TFLL and clinically reduce the sign and symptoms of evaporative DED. However, IPL therapy in combination with HEM was found to be more effective than IPL therapy alone.

UNASSIGNED: Post-acne erythema (PAE) is one of the most common physical sequelae of acne regression, PAE can resolve spontaneously, but in some patients it may last for years. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of narrow and broad spectrum filters of intense pulsed light (IPL) for the treatment of PAE.
UNASSIGNED: This prospective study evaluated 60 patients with PAE for at least 6 months, assigned equally to three groups: 1st group received narrow-spectrum with vascular filter (530-650 nm and 900-1200 nm), 2nd group received broad-spectrum with (560/590-1200 nm) filters, the appropriate adjustments were made according to patient\'s skin colour. Every patient received four sessions one month apart. 3rd group is blank control group did not receive any treatment. CAT (CEA (Clinical Erythema Assessment), Area, and Telangiectasia) used to grade clearance of PAE before and after treatment, Investigators Global Assessment (IGA) used to assess the improvement score after the treatment, and Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) used to evaluate the impact of PAE on patients\' Quality of Life (QoL). Self-satisfaction scale completed at the follow-up. Adverse events and acne relapse were recorded.
UNASSIGNED: A significant decrease of CAT score in vascular group (P<0.05). IGA scale showed significant improvement after vascular treatment. A significant decrease in CADI (P<0.05) after vascular treatment. Patient satisfaction was higher in vascular group than control and blank control groups. Acne relapse observed in control and blank control groups (40% and 15%, respectively).10% of patients showed pigmentation, 15% had blisters after 590 nm treatment.
UNASSIGNED: IPL vascular filter (530-650 nm and 900-1200 nm) have efficacy in the treatment of PAE. CADI score, patient satisfaction, and acne relapse were significantly better after vascular narrow spectrum treatment than broad-spectrum treatment.

UNASSIGNED: Hypertrophic scarring is a complex process, and numerous methods have been introduced to treat scars. This study aims to evaluate the effect of combined CO2 fractional laser and narrowband intense pulsed light (IPL) compared to IPL alone in the treatment of hypertrophic scars.
UNASSIGNED: This was a prospective, randomized controlled study enrolled 138 patients with hypertrophic scars. The participants were randomly divided into two groups: CO2-IPL and IPL group, and received three sessions at 10-14-week intervals for 3-month follow-up. Two independent plastic surgeons evaluated the treatments using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scales (POSAS). Overall satisfaction was evaluated using the Patient Satisfaction Scale (PSS).
UNASSIGNED: 101 subjects completed the study. Compared to single IPL, the combination CO2-IPL group showed a significant improvement in itching, color, stiffness, thickness, and irregularity, except for pain, and an enhancement in vascularization, pigmentation, thickness, relief, and pliability of the scar, assessed by POSAS (p < .01). 100% patients in the combination group were satisfied compared to 84% in IPL alone.
UNASSIGNED: The combination of CO2 fractional laser and narrowband IPL efficiently improved the appearance and profile of hypertrophic scars, offering a comprehensive and reliable approach for scar therapy.

UNASSIGNED: Laser and intense pulsed light (IPL) treatments are preferred over invasive procedures due to less pain. This study looked at the efficacy and safety of IPL and Erbium fractional laser for patients with striae gravidarum (SG).
UNASSIGNED: All 60 patients with SG were successfully enrolled in the study. IPL treatment was followed by Erbium fractional laser (wavelength 2940 nm) treatment at 4-week intervals for a total of three treatments. SG elasticity was assessed with a SEM575 custom instrument and patients were scored for SG span with an Antera 3D multifunctional skin imaging analyzer. A 3D skin impact system was used to assess patients\' epidermal thickness. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess patients\' pain scores during the treatment period. Improvement in stretch marks was assessed with the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS). The occurrence of adverse events was recorded at a follow-up of 3 months. Patient satisfaction with the outcome of the treatment was also recorded.
UNASSIGNED: Area of stretch marks decreased from 7.89 ± 0.49 cm2 pre-treatment to 4.94 ± 1.16 cm2 post-treatment (P < 0.001). The grayness values and atrophy of stretch marks were reduced after treatment. Furthermore, skin elasticity and thickness at the lesions of patients increased significantly after the treatment (P < 0.001), while the width of the stretch marks significantly decreased (P < 0.001). The VAS score was 5.45 ± 1.31, the incidence of adverse events was 25%, and patient satisfaction with the efficacy was 96.67%.
UNASSIGNED: IPL combined with Erbium fractional laser improves the area and atrophy of SG, lightens the color, and increases the elasticity and thickness of the skin, with high treatment safety and remarkable clinical results.

BACKGROUND: Combinational therapy such as taking tranexamic acid while using laser treatment has been proved potential efficacy by many experiments. However, there is few research which contains large samples and consistent observations.
OBJECTIVE: We evaluated clinical efficacy and safety of a new systemic treatment of drug-laser-photon therapy.
METHODS: Retrospective and randomized investigator-blinded study of 75 patients with mixed type melasma was analyzed. At each visit, standardized photographs were taken using VISIA. Modified melasma area and severity index (mMASI) scores were marked using photographs by two dermatologists.
RESULTS: The mMASI score decreased significantly from 6.92 to 3.84 after the treatment. The VISIA analyze right cheek data shows: Spots (from 49.67 ± 3.43 to 56.09 ± 3.31), UV spots (from 41.39 ± 24.45 to 44.56 ± 25.86), and Brown spots (from 23.97 ± 17.89 to 28.16 ± 21.28) are statistically increased (p = 0.035, p = 0.018, p = 0.07). All patients feel varying degrees of improvement, about 10.17% felt very much improved, 30.51% felt much improved (51%-75%), 45.76% felt moderately improved (26%-50%), and 13.56% felt little improved (1%-25%).
CONCLUSIONS: This study was no control group.
CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy and safety profile of the combination of drug-laser-photon therapy systemic treatment in melasma patients has been proved. It has potential possibility to become a new, reliable, widely suitable therapy strategy.

This study compared the changes in tear inflammatory cytokine levels after intense pulsed light (IPL) combined with meibomian gland expression (MGX) (IPL group) and instant warm compresses combined with MGX (physiotherapy group) as treatments for meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD)-related dry eye disease (DED) to explore their similarities and differences in therapeutic mechanisms.
This study was a post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Thirteen patients with MGD-related DED were enrolled in each group and received three treatments correspondingly with 3-week intervals. The levels of 20 tear cytokines, namely, TNF-α, IL-6, MMP-9, CXCL8/IL-8, CXCL10/IP-10, IL-10, EGF, IL-6R, IL-1β, IFN-γ, lactoferrin, Fas ligand, IL-17A, LT-α, S100A9, LCN2/NGAL, IL-13, IL-12/IL-23p40, Fas, and CCL11/Eotaxin, were measured at baseline, before the second and third treatments, and 3 weeks after the third treatment. The primary outcome was the difference in cytokine levels between baseline and the last measurement, and the trends were analyzed at each measurement point.
At the last measurement, a significant decrease was observed in all tear cytokines for both IPL and physiotherapy groups compared with baseline. The IPL group showed greater reductions in IL-6, IL-6R, IL-1β, IL-13, and CCL11/Eotaxin than the physiotherapy group. TNF-α, CXCL8/IL-8, CXCL10/IP-10, IL-10, EGF, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and Lipocalin-2/NGAL levels continued to decrease with treatment time. Important interactions were found in the changes of IL-6 and IL-13 levels, where the levels first decreased and then slightly increased in the physiotherapy group after treatment, while they continued to decrease in the IPL group.
The mechanisms of IPL and physiotherapy in treating MGD-related DED were both associated with reducing inflammation, and the superiority of IPL could be attributed to its better inhibitory effect on inflammatory cytokines like IL-6. In addition, several cytokines were on a downward trend during treatment, suggesting that the vicious cycle of DED was suppressed.

UNASSIGNED: High recurrence rate of chalaziosis and serious side effects of repeated surgical excision may help increase awareness of recurrent and refractory chalaziosis as a serious disorder affecting many aspects of life. This present study was aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of intense pulse light (IPL) therapy and meibomian gland expression (MGX) in cases of recurrent chalaziosis after excision surgery.
UNASSIGNED: Forty-two consecutive recurrent chalaziosis cases (35 patients) treated with IPL-MGX were enrolled. All patients initially underwent excision with curettage. One week after lesion excision, IPL-MGX were performed at least 3 times. Another set of age- and sex-matched consecutive cases of recurrent chalaziosis, who received excision with curettage, but went without IPL-MGX treatment, were collected to calculate recurrence rate. Treatment efficacy and safety were measured before IPL-MGX treatment and 1 month after the final treatment.
UNASSIGNED: The majority of patients received 4 sessions of IPL-MGX therapy (20 patients; 57.1%) or 3 sessions of IPL-MGX therapy (10 patients; 28.6%), resulting in a lower recurrence rate of 11.4% compared to that of recurrent chalaziosis without IPL-MGX cases (45.6%, P < 0.001). The NIBUT was significantly prolonged from 3.9 ± 1.8 to 5.1 ± 1.7 s at 4 weeks after the final treatment (P = 0.001). Similarly, mean TMH score improved and was statistically significant when compared with baseline (0.17 ± 0.07 vs. 0.21± 0.09; P = 0.008). Furthermore, meibum quality and expressibility scores significantly improved at 4 weeks following the final treatment (both P < 0.001). Other variables, such as intraocular pressure and visual acuity, remained unaffected following treatment.
UNASSIGNED: The combination of IPL treatment and MGX offers a low risk and effective option in decreasing the recurrence rate of recurrent chalaziosis by improving meibomian gland function. IPL-MGX may be considered for first-line treatment in recurrent or refractory cases post excision.

BACKGROUND: Laser in situ keratomelieusis (LASIK) is one of the most frequently performed refractive treatments. Dry eye (DE) is common in patients after LASIK and can be bothersome postoperatively. Therapies such as intense pulsed light (IPL), sodium hyaluronate (SH) and heated eye mask (HEM) have been reported to improve signs and symptoms of DE .
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate and compare the effects of IPL and 0.1% SH (IPL group, 50 eyes) and IPL in combination with 0.1% SH and HEM (IPL + group, 50 eyes) in participants with persistent post-LASIK DE.
METHODS: The final analysis included 100 patients (100 eyes) who had LASIK for myopic correction and had been experiencing moderate to severe DE following LASIK for over a year. Participants were randomly assigned to either the IPL group (2 IPL sessions) or IPL + group (2 IPL sessions and daily HEM for 4 weeks), and both groups continued the use of daily 0.1% SH (HYLO-COMOD®) preservative-free eye drops. Non-invasive tear break-up time (NITBUT), tear film lipid layer (TFLL), lower tear meniscus height (LTMH), meibomian gland quality (MGQ), meibomian gland expressibility (MGEx), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), ocular surface disease index (OSDI) and artificial tear usage (ATU) survey were assessed at baseline (BL) and follow-up at 2 (F1) and 4 weeks (F2).
RESULTS: Following the treatment protocol, all dry eye (DE) parameters assessed in this study improved significantly (P < 0.05) in both groups at F2 compared with their respective BL measurements. Inter-group comparison at F2 found significant differences in their NITBUT (IPL: 6.06 ± 0.59 vs. IPL +: 6.67 ± 0.86, P < 0.001), TFLL (IPL: 1.90 ± 0.65 vs. IPL +: 1.60 ± 0.64, P = 0.021), LTMH (IPL: 0.186 ± 0.053 vs. 0.204 ± 0.034, P = 0.003), MGQ (IPL: 1.48 ± 0.54 vs. IPL +: 1.26 ± 0.56, P = 0.026), MGEx (IPL: 1.62 ± 0.53 vs. IPL +: 1.44 ± 0.50, P = 0.038) and OSDI (IPL: 32.54 ± 6.85 vs. IPL +: 29.76 ± 4.74, P = 0.001), while CFS score (IPL: 4.02 ± 0.65 vs. IPL +: 3.96 ± 0.73, P = 0.652) and ATU (IPL: 1.88 ± 0.63 vs. IPL +: 1.72 ± 0.50, P = 0.159) showed no significant difference.
CONCLUSIONS: Post-LASIK DE signs and symptoms can be improved by combining therapies such as IPL, HEM and 0.1% SH. Increased TFLL due to a combination of IPL, 0.1% SH and HEM had a greater positive impact on the subjective and objective DE measurements in participants with persistent post-LASIK DE.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate meibomian glands (MGs) secretion can lead to dry eye signs and symptoms. Tear film lipid layer (TFLL) secreted by MGs protects and prevents rapid evaporation of tear film. The purpose was to assess TFLL alteration and function in patients with evaporative dry eye (EDE) using tear interferometry after optimal pulse light technology (OPT) intense pulsed light (IPL).
METHODS: This prospective randomized examiner-masked sham- controlled study included 86 participants (142 eyes) with DED. IPL or sham procedure was performed on day 0, 21, and 42. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), non-invasive breakup time (NITBUT), interferometric fringe pattern determined TFLL quality, fluorescein staining (FS), and meibum gland (MG) were assessed at day 0, 21, 42 and 3-month.
RESULTS: At 3-month, TFLL, NITBUT, MG drop-out, MG quality, MG expressibility, FS and OSDI improved significantly (P < 0.05) in the IPL group, while the sham group had no significant improvements. Except for Meibo-score and FS, all parameters significantly correlated with the improvement in TFLL following IPL treatment. Additionally, artificial tears usage was significantly less in the IPL group from D-42 onwards.
CONCLUSIONS: IPL treatment demonstrated the ability to improve TFLL quality and clinically reduced sign and symptoms of DED thereby reducing the frequency of artificial tears use.