Blue Light Phototherapy Research Articles

LB800 Blue Light Phototherapy as a Treatment of Transient Acantholytic Dermatosis

Transient acantholytic dermatosis (Grover disease) is a recurring cutaneous papulovesicular skin disorder classically occurring on the chest in middle aged Caucasian males. The disease is often recalcitrant and difficult to induce complete remission in a subset of patients with current standard therapies. Currently, there is a need for more therapeutic options for these patients. In prior studies, non-ionizing blue light exposure has been shown to be efficacious in the treatment of a wide range of skin conditions from acne to rosacea, and psoriasis.

Effect of Addition of Probiotics to Standard Treatment on Neonatal Jaundice

Objective: To compare the mean change in the bilirubin levels with addition of probiotics to standard treatment for the management of neonatal jaundice. Methodology: The randomized controlled trial was undertaken at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Paediatrics Department, Federal Government Polyclinic (Post Graduate Medical Institute), Islamabad from 1st April to 30th September 2019.  Neonates with hyperbilirubinemia requiring phototherapy were randomly divided into two groups, each having 30 patients. Group A received probiotics along with phototherapy while group B received phototherapy alone. Primary outcome was serum total bilirubin, which was calculated on 0, 1 and 3 days of treatment. Duration of phototherapy and patient's outcome was also recorded. Data was analyzed statistically using SPSS v. 23. Results: The mean serum bilirubin level after 24 hours was 14.27 ± 4.35 mg/dl in combination group while 16.43 ± 4.36 mg/dl in phototherapy group (p > 0.05). After 48 hours, the mean serum bilirubin level was 12.37 ± 3.33 mg/dl in combination group while 14.09 ± 3.60 mg/dl in phototherapy group (p > 0.05). After 72 hours, the mean serum bilirubin level was 11.09 ± 2.87 mg/dl in combination group while 11.72 ± 2.96 mg/dl in phototherapy group (p > 0.05). The mean time required of blue light phototherapy was 43.47 ± 20.71 hours in combination group while 61.53 ±28.27 hours in phototherapy group (p < 0.05). All neonates were discharged. Conclusion: Addition of probiotics to standard treatment decreased the time required for the phototherapy in neonatal jaundice. However no statistically significant difference was seen in the bilirubin levels between the two groups.

The Efficacy of Phototherapy in the Treatment of Neonatal Jaundice

Phototherapy is safe and effective in the management of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia; its efficacy has been demonstrated in several studies.A prospective study done on 100 cases of newborns with jaundice admitted to the pediatric ward at Tikrit Teaching Hospital during January to July 2009 were selected randomly, aim to evaluate the efficacy of phototherapy used in the treatment of significant indirect hyperbilirubinemia. The total serum bilirubin determinations were performed on newborns with jaundice. The current study demonstrated a statistically significant positive relation between the rate of TSB decrement and supplementary feeding, B.Wt. and type of light ,and a statistically non-significant negative relation between the rate of TSB decrement and gestational age, type of jaundice and receiving IVF. Conclusion: the efficacy of phototherapy in neonates with mixed feeding more than the bottle feeding and breast feeding, also the response to phototherapy in VLBW newborns was significantly slower than that of NBW and LBW. neonates under blue light phototherapy showed faster response than those under white light.

A low-cost bilirubin measurement tool for neonatal jaundice monitoring at the point-of-care: a comparison of BiliDx with a standard laboratory bilirubinometer and transcutaneous bilirubinometer

BackgroundNeonatal jaundice, defined as an excess of bilirubin in blood at birth or shortly thereafter, has a disproportionately high impact in low-resource settings. Three quarters of deaths from jaundice occur in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. Jaundice is easily treated with blue light phototherapy; however, accurate, low-cost bilirubin monitoring is essential to guide effective phototherapy treatment in low-resource settings. To address this need, we developed BiliDx, a low-cost, portable reader that quantifies bilirubin concentration in a few drops of blood applied to a lateral flow card. BiliDx measures absorbance at three wavelengths: blue (bilirubin), amber (haemoglobin interference), and red (background) and can perform measurements in less than 5 mins at the point of care, without the need for a costly centrifuge or extensive training. Here, we compare the accuracy of BiliDx against a standard laboratory bilirubinometer and a transcutaneous bilirubinometer. MethodsThis study took place in two central hospitals in Malawi. We included samples from neonates being treated in neonatal wards and deemed to be at risk for jaundice or who were undergoing phototherapy. Guardians provided written informed consent. We measured bilirubin using three devices: BiliDx, a bilirubinometer (Reichert UNISTAT), and a transcutaneous bilirubinometer (Drager JM-105), with a total of 475 measurements per device. Training (149 measurements) and validation (326 measurements) sets were created by ordering the first measurement per patient from lowest to highest UNISTAT bilirubin; every third measurement was selected for the training set. The training set was used to fit a model that correlated bilirubin concentration to absorbances at three wavelengths. The validation set was used to make an unbiased evaluation of the accuracy of the model. FindingsWe enrolled 456 neonates between August 7 and December 12, 2019; 247 of 326 (75%) of BiliDx measurements in the validation set were within 2 mg/dL of UNISTAT measurements, compared with 44 of 281 (6%) of quantitative transcutaneous measurements. No adverse events occurred. InterpretationBiliDx can provide accurate bilirubin monitoring. BiliDx is more accurate than transcutaneous bilirubinometry, a technology often endorsed for its non-invasive, portable nature. Limitations include that only ten nurses used BiliDx and only central hospitals were included. Testing of the BiliDx device is ongoing; we aim to collect enough measurements >20 mg/dL to assess the accuracy of BiliDx over the intended bilirubin concentration range of 0–35 mg/dL. Future studies will evaluate usability among a larger group of nurses and hospital settings. FundingUSAID Saving Lives at Birth Award No. 7200AA18FA0016.

Peminjaman Inkubator Gratis Bagi Bayi Prematur

The United Nations (UN) in 2010 report entitled “Born Too Soon, The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth” placed Indonesia in fifth place as the country with the highest number of premature babies in the world. This was supported by data from the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2016, saying the infant mortality rate (IMR) reached 25 deaths per 1,000 babies born. The implementation of the community service (PKM) is through a strategic approach to the community in the form of promoting free incubator lending to families with premature babies. The approach is carried out directly (direct approach) by using effective communication to health workers, as well as to urban villages around the work area. With the free incubator, many parents who have LBW babies feel helped and are very grateful, the incubator lending process that has been loaned to parents ranges from 1 to 2 months, but there are also families who borrow more than 3 months. This is because the baby's condition is difficult to develop. With the availability of free portable incubator loans carried out by the Surya Nusantara Nursing Academy Free Incubator Volunteers, in collaboration with the Indonesian Premature Baby Foundation, the people of Pematansgiantar and its surroundings feel helped, and are very grateful, not only that the babies who feel comfortable being in the incubator but also the parents also who feel happy, and they do not worry about the development of their baby. They also do not need to experience stress in connection with funding for the care of premature babies, because the incubator and blue light phototherapy equipment is lent out for free without being charged a penny.

Design and analysis of a solar powered phototherapy device

This study was carried out to design and construct a cost-effective and efficient solar-powered phototherapy device which can be implemented in areas where there are inadequate electricity and rural environment. Neonatal jaundice is the yellowish condition due to high-level bilirubin in a new born baby. This condition must be treated if the bilirubin level above 12 mg/dL. One of the common treatments is by using red and blue light phototherapy to convert bilirubin become more soluble in the water then easily excreted from the body. A microcontroller was used to regulate the radiation of light in the device and make it safe for the treatment of jaundice in a new baby. The device is powered by solar energy generated from the 24-volt monocrystalline solar panel, for charging deep cycle batteries via a charge controller. The wavelength of light is 460-490 nm with a minimum intensity of 30 μW/cm2. In this study, the phototherapy device is designed and tested. The red and blue light source consisted of thirty-six (36) high power Light emitting diode LED. Heat sink and fan are employed for the LED package cooling system. Solar power meter and spectrometer are used to analyze the intensity and wavelength produced by the LED.

Design of phototherapy device for neonatal jaundice using high power blue LED

Neonatal jaundice is the yellowish condition due to high level bilirubin in new born baby. This condition must be treated if the bilirubin level above 12 mg/dL. One of the common treatment is by using blue light phototherapy to convert bilirubin become more soluble in the water then easily excreted from the body. The wavelength of light is 460-490 nm with minimum intensity of 30 μW/cm2. In this study, the phototherapy device is designed and tested. The blue light source is high power LED consisted six chips of CREE EZ900. Heat sink and fan are employed for LED package cooling system. Solar power meter and spectrometer are used to analyse the intensity and wave length produced by the LED. The device results 30 μW/cm 2 and 460 nm of wavelength.

Neonatal Phototherapy: A Novel Therapy to Prevent Allergic Skin Disease for At Least 5 Years

Background: Preventing the development of allergic skin disease in children is the best way to treat the disease. Objectives: Ultraviolet (UV)-free blue light phototherapy has been reported to treat atopic eczema. We evaluated the effect of neonatal phototherapy on allergic skin disease in children. Methods: We randomly recruited 117,041 children from an insurance research database. Those with neonatal jaundice and receiving neonatal phototherapy were classified as the icteric-phototherapy group (n = 4,744), those with neonatal jaundice and not receiving phototherapy were classified as the icteric-non-phototherapy group (n = 5,003), and those without jaundice were classified as the non-icteric group (n = 107,294). We reviewed claims from birth to age 5 years. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD), clinical visit times, and topical prescriptions for allergic skin disease at different ages were compared among groups. Results: AD prevalence was lower in the icteric-phototherapy group than in the icteric-non-phototherapy group. Moreover, clinical visit times for allergic skin disease were lower at age 1–4 years, and topical agent prescription for allergic skin disease were lower at age 1–5 years, in the icteric-phototherapy group than in the icteric-non-phototherapy group. The decreased use of topical agents could reach 64.29%. The 5-year complications of skin disease and cancer in the phototherapy group were not higher. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on the effect of UV-free blue light therapy on allergic skin disease in newborns. Blue light therapy in newborns may be a novel method to efficiently prevent allergic skin disease for at least 5 years.

An analysis on treatment effect of blue light phototherapy combined with Bifico in treating neonatal hemolytic jaundice.

This study aimed to discuss and evaluate the clinical effect of blue light phototherapy combined with bifico in treating neonatal hemolytic jaundice. One hundred and twenty cases with neonatal hemolytic jaundice were randomly divided into treatment group and control group, 60 cases in each group. Neonatal patients in the control group were treated with traditional treatment, including administration of enzyme inducer phenobarbital and blue light phototherapy for 8 consecutive hours every day. Neonatal patients in the treatment group received bifico orally based on traditional treatment. Clinical effects of the two groups were observed after one course of treatment (7 days as one course). During the first course, serum bilirubin level in the treatment group treated with blue light phototherapy combined with bifico declined more rapidly (P<0.01) and more significantly (P<0.01) than that in the control group, and the mean time for eliminating jaundice was significantly reduced (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 91.67% in the treatment group, while that was 85.00% in the control group, which suggested that the treatment effect of the treatment group was better than that of the control group and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). Compared with traditional treatment, the treatment effect of blue light phototherapy combined with bifico in treating neonatal hemolytic jaundice is significantly improved and the speed of eliminating jaundice is also higher. Thus, it is worthy to be applied in clinical practice.

Phototherapy Induced Hypocalcemia : A Jordanian and Saudi Experience

Background: neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a common condition in the first few days of life (1) and it can be divided into: pathological and physiological and indirect (unconjugated) and direct (conjugated) hyperbilirubinemia. Objective: This paper aimed to evaluate the effect of different types of phototherapy on serum calcium of both preterm and full-term infants with indirect hyperbilirubinemia, in either supine or prone position. Methods: data were taken from 100 newborns candidate by divided them into two groups. Blue and white light phototherapy were equally used for different infants of both groups. Results: the results showed that 31% developed hypocalcemia, 20% preterm and 11% full term infants. 38% developed hypocalcemia, where among infants who received prophylactic phototherapy 24% developed hypocalcemia. 60% of infants who received extensive phototherapy developed hypocalcemia, where 27.7% of infants who managed with single phototherapy developed hypocalcemia. Seventeen of the infants who managed in prone position and 14 infants of those who received phototherapy in supine position developed hypocalcemia. Conclusion: all in all, 19 infants developed hypocalcemia under blue light and 12 received white light phototherapy. Phototherapy induced hypocalcemia in both full term and premature infants. In addition to the common practice of monitoring the total serum bilirubin and PCV in all newborns on phototherapy, it is important to monitor the total serum calcium on daily base.

Hypothesis on the Role of Cryptochromes in Inflammation and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Outcome.

We have recently found that the temperature variability (TV) in the day–night cycle may predict the mean intracranial pressure in the following 24 h (ICP24) in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients under multimodality monitoring, sedation, and hypothermia (<35°C). Specifically, we found that ICP24 = 6 (4 − TV) mmHg. TV is the ratio between the coefficient of variation of temperature during the nocturnal and the preceding diurnal periods. This result suggests that the circadian clock reflects brain plasticity mechanisms and its malfunctioning leads to deterioration of the neurologic status. The sleep–wake cycle is absent in these patients and their circadian clock can function properly only by environment light-independent mechanisms. One mechanism involves the circadian clock proteins named cryptochromes (CRYs). CRYs are highly preserved and widespread in the evolutionary tree, are expressed in different cell types in humans [type II CRYs, in two forms: human cryptochrome 1 and 2 (hCRY1 and hCRY2)], and in certain species, respond to blue light and play role in magnetoreception. Interestingly, SAH outcome seems to correlate with inflammation, and CRYs decrease inflammatory activity. Our hypothesis derived from these observations is that CRYs modulate the circadian oscillation of temperature even during therapeutic hypothermia and improve outcome in SAH through decrease in inflammation. A strategy to test this hypothesis is to measure periodically during the acute phase of high-grade SAH the level of CRYs in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and circulating white blood cells, and to correlate these levels with outcome, TV, ICP24, and pro- and anti-inflammatory markers in CSF and blood. If this hypothesis is true, the development of therapies targeting inflammation in SAH could take advantage of cryptochrome properties. It has been shown that blue light phototherapy increases the expression of CRYs in blood mononuclear cells in jaundiced neonates. Likewise, visual stimulus with flashing light improves Alzheimer’s disease features in experimental model and there is a prominent expression of CRYs in the retina. Remarkably, recent evidence showed that hCRY2 responds to electromagnetic fields, which could be one elusive mechanism of action of transcranial magnetic stimulation and a reason for its use in SAH.

An extension of a multicenter, randomized, split-face clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of chromophore gel-assisted blue light phototherapy for the treatment of acne.

A variety of laser/light-based devices have been reported to be effective for the treatment of acne, yet no long-term data on efficacy and safety have been published. A first 12-week clinical trial ("Main trial") recently demonstrated that the KLOX BioPhotonic System, an LED blue light device using photo-converter chromophores, can significantly improve moderate and severe facial acne vulgaris with an excellent safety profile. This Extension trial followed the Main trial, using the same BioPhotonic System, with the same dose and instructions for use, on patients having already completed treatment in the Main trial. Main objectives of this open-label long-term extension 12-week study were to evaluate the efficacy of the KLOX BioPhotonic System on the untreated hemiface during the Main trial, as well as the duration of response on the hemiface treated during the first 12-week Main trial. Despite their young age (mean age: 21.6years) and their 12-week participation in the Main trial, 49 (54.4%) of the total number of patients who participated in the Main trial enrolled in this additional 12-week Extension trial. Baseline grading of acne was performed with the Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) scale. For each patient, the hemiface randomly selected as a control during the Main trial received 6weeks of treatment (twice weekly) and was then followed up for an additional 6weeks. The first hemiface treated in the Main trial was consequently observed throughout the Extension trial, allowing for a further 12-week assessment of outcomes (total 24weeks). In light of an additional 12weeks of treatment on the contralateral face, the patient compliance rate was excellent, with 91.9% of the total number of patients receiving at least 80% of the treatments. Patients with a baseline IGA grade of 2 (mild) on the treated hemiface demonstrated a success rate of 58.3 and 66.7% at weeks 6 and 12, respectively. At these same time points, subjects with a baseline IGA grade of 3 (moderate) demonstrated a success rate of 81.8 and 90.0%. Patients with a baseline IGA grade of 4 (severe) demonstrated a success rate of 100% at both week 6 and week 12. When evaluating the originally treated hemifaces from the Main trial, the rate of return to baseline at 24weeks was calculated to be 15.5%. This latter outcome confirmed the long duration of effect following treatment. The patient safety profile was also excellent, with very few related adverse events. The BioPhotonic System, which is comprised of LED blue light phototherapy and photo-converter chromophores, provides long-term efficacy and safety in the treatment of acne vulgaris, with a rate of compliance above what is generally observed in a young population of patients suffering from acne vulgaris, especially in light of sequential enrollment in a study treating one hemiface.

POF-yarn weaves: controlling the light out-coupling of wearable phototherapy devices.

Neonatal jaundice (hyperbilirubinaemia) is common in neonates and, often, intensive blue-light phototherapy is required to prevent long-term effects. A photonic textile can overcome three major incubator-related concerns: Insulation of the neonate, human contact, and usage restraints. This paper describes the development of a homogeneous luminous textile from polymer optical fibres to use as a wearable, long-term phototherapy device. The bend out-coupling of light from the POFs was related to the weave production, e.g. weave pattern and yarn densities. Comfort, determined by friction against a skin model and breathability, was investigated additionally. Our textile is the first example of phototherapeutic clothing that is produced sans post-processing allowing for faster commercial production.

In vitro bactericidal activity of blue light (465 nm) phototherapy on meticillin-susceptible and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is the most common cause of bacterial skin infections in dogs. Meticillin-resistant infections have become more common and are challenging to treat. Blue light phototherapy may be an option for treating these infections. The objective of this study was to measure the in vitro bactericidal activity of 465 nm blue light on meticillin-susceptible Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MSSP) and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP). We hypothesized that irradiation with blue light would kill MSSP and MRSP in a dose-dependent fashion in vitro as previously reported for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In six replicate experiments, each strain [MSSP, n = 1; MRSP ST-71 (KM1381) n = 1; and MRSA (BAA-1680) n = 1] were cultivated on semisolid media, irradiated using a 465 nm blue light phototherapeutic device at the cumulative doses of 56.25, 112.5 and 225 J/cm2 and incubated overnight at 35°C. Controls were not irradiated. Colony counts (CC) were performed manually. Descriptive statistics were performed and treatment effects assessed using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank-sum test. Bonferroni-corrected rank-sum tests were performed for post hoc analysis when significant differences were identified. There was a significant decrease in CC with blue light irradiation at all doses for MRSA (P = 0.0006) but not for MSSP (P = 0.131) or MRSP (P = 0.589). Blue light phototherapy significantly reduced CC of MRSA, but not of MSSP or MRSP. The mechanism for the relative photosensitivity of the MRSA isolate is unknown, but is hypothesized to be due to an increased concentration of porphyrin in S. aureus relative to S. pseudintermedius, which would modulate blue light absorption.

Observation on the clinical efficacy of the improved blue light phototherapy cover

Objective To explore an effective method to reduce the incidence rate of accident in the process of the operation of blue light phototherapy and to discuss the methods to shorten the time of the NICU nurses in implementing blue light phototherapy operation. Methods A total of 160 newborns who received blue light phototherapy from March to June 2015 in our hospital were randomly divided into a control group and an experiment group, with 80 cases in each group.The control group adopted the conventional blue light phototherapy cover, while the observation group adopted the improved blue light phototherapy cover. Results The incidence rate of accident of the experiment group was 0.6%, which was lower than that of the control group 2.6% .The time for implementing blue light phototherapy operation were (315.12±144.65) seconds for the experiment group and (465.62±241.02) seconds for the control group.The satisfaction for the improved blue light phototherapy of nursing staff was higher than that of the conventional blue light phototherapy (P<0.05). Conclusion The improved blue light phototherapy cover can reduce the incidence rate of accident in the process of blue light phototherapy operation and enhance work efficiency and satisfaction degree for NICU nurses. Key words: Blue light phototherapy cover; Work efficiency; Incidence rate of accident; Satisfaction degree

Intense blue light therapy during the night-time does not suppress the rhythmic melatonin biosynthesis in a young boy.

Melatonin is a hormone predominantly synthesized and secreted during the night by the pineal gland. Artificial light at night, especially its blue part, acutely suppresses the melatonin production. Th e aim of the present study was to find out, whether an intense blue light phototherapy of severe hyperbilirubinemia, may suppress the melatonin production during the night when the eyes will be properly protected by a sleep mask. The main melatonin metabolite, 6-sulphatoxymelatonin was measured in urine in a nine-year old boy suffering from the Crigler-Najjar syndrome type I. The boy was treated during the sleep period with an intense blue light (to 1800 lx) 10 h/day, since his birth. During the phototherapy, his eyes were protected with a sleep mask. The concentration of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin was determined in the first morning urine and urine collected afternoon during the six days. The patient was exposed to phototherapy for three nights, two nights without and the last one with the treatment. The control urine samples were obtained from 8 healthy nine-year old boys. The level of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin was measured by radioimmunoassay and the data were normalized to urinary creatinine. A distinct melatonin production rhythm was found and 6-sulphatoxymelatonin concentration in urine of the patient was comparable with the values obtained by the control group. No differences in 6-sulphatoxymelatonin levels were found between the nights with and without the phototherapy applied. We conclude that the whole night treatment of hyperbilirubinemia with intense blue light has negligible side effect on the rhythmic melatonin production, when the eyes are sufficiently protected by the sleep mask.

The treatment of crigler-najjar syndrome by blue light as explained by resonant recognition model

The Crigler-Najjar syndrome is extremely rare genetic disease, that is manifested by severe jaundicedue to lack of UDP glucuronosyltransferase 1-A1 (UDP) activity. The main treatment is to use the blue lightphototherapy, during the prolong time, during the day every day. Here, we analyzed human UDP’s correlation with the blue light phototherapy using the nonlinear physico-mathematical model: Resonant Recognition Model (RRM), which proposes that protein activation is electromagnetic in nature within the frequency range of infrared and visible light. We found that human UDP’s are characterized by specific RRM frequency that is related to the blue light radiation. This could be the explicit explanation, why phototherapy with the blue light could replace lack of UDP activity. However, the blue light treatment is less effective with ageing, due to decrease of the blue lightpenetration through skin. Thus, there is a need for alternative treatments. Here, we propose to design de-novopeptide, using this specific RRM frequency. Such peptide, according to RRM, is proposed to have the samebiological function as UDP glucuronosyltransferase 1-A1 and thus can be used for alternative treatment of Crigler-Najjar syndrome.

Neonates with sickle cell disease are vulnerable to blue light phototherapy-induced oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokine elevations

Sickle cell disease is a frequent genetic anomaly characterized by altered molecular structure of hemoglobin resulting into crescent-like deformation of the red blood corpuscles. Neonatal jaundice is a frequent co-morbidity in sickle cell disease. Phototherapy induces isomerization of bilirubin rendering it extractable through urine and hence it is used as a routine treatment of neonatal jaundice. An exposure to light phototherapy as a treatment of neonatal jaundice induces oxidative stress. It is hypothesized that such exposure of neonates with sickle cell disease to the blue light phototherapy as a treatment of neonatal jaundice induces severe oxidative stress and increases the levels of proinflammatory cytokines. This hypothesis is supported with two case studies of sickle cell disease suffering neonates who were exposed to blue light phototherapy to treat jaundice. In both these cases, exposure to phototherapy induced oxidative stress (increased lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase, slight change in activity of catalase and GSH) and elevated the levels of proinflammatory cytokine (TNFα, IL-1, and IL-6) in the sickle cell disease suffering neonates. These observations warrant further investigations to determine the consequences and clinical significance of the blue phototherapy-induced oxidative and proinflammatory stress in Sickle cell disease suffering neonates exposed to phototherapy as a treatment of jaundice.

A multicenter, randomized, split-face clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of chromophore gel-assisted blue light phototherapy for the treatment of acne.

Although a variety of laser/light-based devices have been reported to be effective for the treatment of acne, long-term data on efficacy and safety in the management of moderate and severe inflammatory acne is lacking. The objective of this 12-week clinical trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the KLOX BioPhotonic System, a LED blue light device using specific photo-converter chromophores, in the treatment of moderate to severe acne vulgaris. One patient hemiface was randomly selected to receive 6 weeks of treatment (twice weekly) with the LED light and the photo-converter chromophores whereas the contralateral hemiface was not treated with the BioPhotonic System. All patients were provided with a skin cleanser and a non-comedogenic cream with ultraviolet protection to be used on the entire face during the treatment period. Following completion of the 6-week treatment period, the patient was followed for an additional 6 weeks. Efficacy was assessed through changes in acne severity using the Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) scale and inflammatory acne lesion counts, both evaluated against baseline at weeks 6 and 12. Safety was assessed through physical exam, vital signs, laboratory evaluations, and physician and patient reporting of adverse events. A reduction of at least two grades in IGA scale severity was demonstrated in 51.7% of patients at week 12. Furthermore, at week 12, subjects with a baseline IGA grade of 3 (moderate) demonstrated a success rate (2 or greater grade drop) of 45.3% whereas patients with a baseline IGA grade of 4 (severe) demonstrated a success rate of 61.1%. Acne inflammatory lesion counts confirmed these results, with a reduction of at least 40% of lesions in 81.6% of treated hemifaces after 12 weeks. Treatment was considered as safe and well tolerated, with no serious adverse event and no patient discontinuation from the study from any adverse event. Patients' quality of life was also improved with a decrease of pain linked to acne after the 6-week treatment period. The BioPhotonic System comprised of LED blue-light phototherapy and photo-converter chromophores was found to be efficacious and safe, with a sustained clinical response at 12 weeks for the management of moderate to severe facial inflammatory acne.

Colorimetric dosimeter to promote most efficient use of neonatal phototherapy

Hyperbilirubinemia is a systemic global problem and an often diagnosed pathology in newborns. In most cases, blue-light phototherapy (410–460nm) is the only treatment required to prevent the bilirubin neurotoxicity, but its effectiveness is dose-dependent and is highly affected by the skills, knowledge, and attention of nurses and clinicians who implement the treatment. This paper presents a novel light-sensitive colorimetric dosimeter to simulate the effect of blue-light phototherapy on the optical properties of in vitro bilirubin. The dosimeter is based on a multilayered organic structure comprising a light-stable green-light emitter (copper phthalocyanine, C32Cl16CuN8), and a blue-light-sensitive red emitter (poly{[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene]vinylene}, OC1OC6-PPV). The optical and chemical properties of the dosimeter were investigated by fluorescence and FTIR spectroscopies and by color coordinates of CIE (1931) diagram chromatics, while the photochemical processing of bilirubin was evaluated by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The optical response of the dosimeter under conventional (10μW/cm2) and intensive (40μW/cm2) phototherapy was found to present the same photochemical kinetics as bilirubin. These findings highlight a cutting-edge solution for monitoring bilirubin elimination in neonates as a function of the dosimeter’s color evolution. This novel colorimetric dosimeter provides a standardized method of reporting and measuring phototherapy dose to promote an efficient use of available phototherapy units in health facilities.