This study is the first in the field of pharmacogenetics in Greek psoriasis patients. Further, larger studies are required to validate our findings and replicate them in various populations.
The importance of dermatological noninvasive imaging techniques has increased over the last decades, aiming at diagnosing nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Technological progress has led to the development of various analytical tools, enabling the in vivo/in vitro examination of lesional human skin with the aim to increase diagnostic accuracy and decrease morbidity and mortality. The structure of the skin layers, their chemical composition, and the distribution of their compounds permits the noninvasive photodiagnosis of skin diseases, such as skin cancers, especially for early stages of malignant tumors. An important role in the dermatological diagnosis and disease monitoring has been shown for promising spectroscopic and imaging techniques, such as fluorescence, diffuse reflectance, Raman and near-infrared spectroscopy, optical coherence tomography, and confocal laser-scanning microscopy. We review the use of these spectroscopic techniques as noninvasive tools for the photodiagnosis of NMSC.
The continuous growth of computer and sensor technology allows many researchers to develop simple modifications and/or refinements to standard educational experiments, making them more attractive and comprehensible to students and thus increasing their educational impact. In the framework of this approach, the present study proposes an alternative experimental setup, which allows the confirmation of Hagen–Poiseuille's law, governing the flow of real fluids through tubes, a law with numerous important applications in both technology and medicine. In the proposed educational procedure, experimental measurements of fluid outflow are performed with the use of a motion sensor and a suitable computer program, allowing the determination of both the hydrostatic pressure and the flow rate. The dependence of the flow rate on parameters such as viscosity of the fluid, length and radius of the tube and the pressure difference between the ends of the tube are also studied, providing a laboratory activity which is useful and attractive for first year students, especially those of technologically oriented departments.
Abstract. Noninvasive treatments are increasingly being used for the management of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the predominant type of nonmelanoma skin cancer, making the development of noninvasive diagnostic technologies highly relevant for clinical practice. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy emerges as an attractive diagnostic technique for the diagnosis and demarcation of BCC due to its noninvasiveness, high sensitivity, real-time measurements, and user-friendly methodology. LIF relies on the principle of differential fluorescence emission between abnormal and normal skin tissues (ex vivo and in vivo) in response to excitation by a specific wavelength of light. Fluorescence originates either from endogenous fluorophores (autofluorescence) or from exogenously administered fluorophores (photosensitizers). The measured optical properties and fluorophore contributions of normal skin and BCC are significantly different from each other and correlate well with tissue histology. Photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) is based on the visualization of a fluorophore, with the ability to accumulate in tumor tissue, by the use of fluorescence imaging. PDD may be used for detecting subclinical disease, determining surgical margins, and following-up patients for residual tumor or BCC relapse. In this review, we will present the basic principles of LIF and discuss its uses for the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of BCC.
The object of this study was to investigate whether laser-induced skin autofluorescence (LIF) and/or light reflectance spectra could provide a useful contrast between basal cell carcinoma (BCC) tissues and the surrounding healthy skin. Unstained human skin samples, excised from humans undergoing biopsy examination, were irradiated with a nitrogen laser (λ = 337 nm) for excitation of autofluorescence and a tungsten halogen lamp for the reflectance measurements. The ex vivo spectroscopic results were correlated with the histopathology images to distinguish the areas of BCC from those of the surrounding health skin. A simple spectral analysis technique was also applied for better skin diagnosis. In conclusion, it seems that LIF and reflectance spectra could be used to differentiate neoplastic from normal skin tissue using an appropriate classification model analysis.
Specific features of the recorded spectra are discussed and the possible origin of the obtained fluorescence signals is proposed. Quantitative evaluation of data extrapolation for each skin type is also depicted.
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