Objective Alopecia is a common disorder affecting more than half of the population worldwide. Androgenetic alopecia, the most common type, affects 50% of males over the age of 40 and 75% of females over 65. Only two drugs have been approved so far (minoxidil and finasteride) and hair transplant is the other treatment alternative. This review surveys the evidence for low-level laser therapy (LLLT) applied to the scalp as a treatment for hair loss and discusses possible mechanisms of actions. Methods and Materials Searches of PubMed and Google Scholar were carried out using keywords alopecia, hair loss, LLLT, photobiomodulation. Results Studies have shown that LLLT stimulated hair growth in mice subjected to chemotherapy-induced alopecia and also in alopecia areata. Controlled clinical trials demonstrated that LLLT stimulated hair growth in both men and women. Among various mechanisms, the main mechanism is hypothesized to be stimulation of epidermal stem cells in the hair follicle bulge and shifting the follicles into anagen phase. Conclusion LLLT for hair growth in both men and women appears to be both safe and effective. The optimum wavelength, coherence and dosimetric parameters remain to be determined.

The relentless advance of drug-resistance among pathogenic microbes, mandates a search for alternative approaches that will not cause resistance. Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) involves the combination of nontoxic dyes with harmless visible light to produce reactive oxygen species that can selectively kill microbial cells. PDI can be broad-spectrum in nature and can also destroy microbial cells in biofilms. Many different kinds of nanoparticles have been studied to potentiate antimicrobial PDI by improving photosensitizer solubility, photochemistry, photophysics and targeting. This review will cover photocatalytic disinfection with titania nanoparticles, carbon nanomaterials (fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene), liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles. Natural polymers (chitosan and cellulose), gold and silver plasmonic nanoparticles, mesoporous silica, magnetic and upconverting nanoparticles have all been used for PDI.

Transcranial low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) is a new non-invasive approach to treating a range of brain disorders including traumatic brain injury (TBI). We (and others) have shown that applying near-infrared light to the head of animals that have suffered TBI produces improvement in neurological functioning, lessens the size of the brain lesion, reduces neuroinflammation, and stimulates the formation of new neurons. In the present study we used a controlled cortical impact TBI in mice and treated the mice either once (4 h post-TBI, 1-laser), or three daily applications (3-laser) with 810 nm CW laser 36 J/cm2 at 50 mW/cm2. Similar to previous studies, the neurological severity score improved in laser-treated mice compared to untreated TBI mice at day 14 and continued to further improve at days 21 and 28 with 3-laser being better than 1-laser. Mice were sacrificed at days 7 and 28 and brains removed for immunofluorescence analysis. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was significantly up-regulated by laser treatment in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus (DG) and the subventricular zone (SVZ) but not in the perilesional cortex (lesion) at day 7 but not at day 28. Synapsin-1 (a marker for synaptogenesis, the formation of new connections between existing neurons) was significantly upregulated in lesion and SVZ but not DG, at 28 days but not 7 days. The data suggest that the benefit of LLLT to the brain is partly mediated by stimulation of BDNF production, which may in turn encourage synaptogenesis. Moreover the pleiotropic benefits of BDNF in the brain suggest LLLT may have wider applications to neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.

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Background and Objective Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) is a noninvasive, nonthermal approach to disorders requiring reduction of pain and inflammation and stimulation of healing and tissue regeneration. Within the last decade, LLLT started being investigated as an adjuvant to liposuction, for noninvasive body contouring, reduction of cellulite, and improvement of blood lipid profile. LLLT may also aid autologous fat transfer procedures by enhancing the viability of adipocytes. However the underlying mechanism of actions for such effects still seems to be unclear. It is important, therefore, to understand the potential efficacy and proposed mechanism of actions of this new procedure for fat reduction. Materials and Methods A review of the literature associated with applications of LLLT related to fat layer reduction was performed to evaluate the findings from pre-clinical and clinical studies with respect to the mechanism of action, efficacy, and safety. Results The studies as of today suggest that LLLT has a potential to be used in fat and cellulite reduction as well as in improvement of blood lipid profile without any significant side effects. One of the main proposed mechanism of actions is based upon production of transient pores in adipocytes, allowing lipids to leak out. Another is through activation of the complement cascade which could cause induction of adipocyte apoptosis and subsequent release of lipids. Conclusion Although the present studies have demonstrated safety and efficacy of LLLT in fat layer reduction, studies demonstrating the efficacy of LLLT as a stand-alone procedure are still inadequate. Moreover, further studies are necessary to identify the mechanism of action.

Background Asthma is a chronic disease associated with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), airway obstruction, and airway remodeling. NF-κB is a transcriptional factor that regulates and co-ordinates the expression of various inflammatory genes. The NF-κB subunits, p50 and Rel-A, are translocated to the nucleus by importin α3 and importin α4. There is growing evidence that vitamin D is a potent immunomodulator. However, the evidence for beneficial or adverse effects of vitamin D in asthma is still unclear. Objective In this study, we examined the effect of vitamin D status on AHR, airway inflammation, and cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in a murine model of allergic asthma. Methods Female BALB/c mice were fed with special vitamin D-deficient or vitamin D-sufficient (2,000 IU/kg) or vitamin D-supplemented (10,000 IU/kg) diet for 13 weeks. Mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin. The effect of vitamin D on lung histology, AHR, T-regulatory cells and BALF cytokines was examined. The expression of importin-α3 and Rel-A in the lung of OVA-sensitized mice was analyzed using immunofluorescence. Results Vitamin D deficiency was associated with higher AHR in OVA-sensitized and challenged mice than those in vitamin D-sufficient mice. This was accompanied with marked signs of airway remodeling, high BALF eosinophilia, increased BALF pro-inflammatory cytokines, reduced BALF IL-10 levels, reduced blood T-regulatory cells, increased expression of importin-α3 and Rel-A in the lung tissue. Vitamin D supplementation attenuated the pro-inflammatory effects, but did not completely reverse the features of allergic airway inflammation. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance Vitamin D could be beneficial as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of allergic asthma.

Key Points• Accurate GZL diagnosis remains challenging, with .60% of patients with presumed GZL having the diagnosis reclassified on consensus review.• Treatment with DLBCLbased therapy appears most effective for GZL (including R-CHOP); however, new therapies are needed to improve outcomes.Gray zone lymphoma (GZL) is described as sharing features with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, there remains complexity in establishing diagnosis, delineating prognosis, and determining optimum therapy. Sixty-eight cases diagnosed as GZL across 15 North American academic centers were evaluated by central pathology review to achieve consensus. Of these, only 26 (38%) were confirmed as GZL.Morphology was critical to GZL consensus diagnosis (eg, tumor cell richness); immunohistochemistry showed universal B-cell derivation, frequent CD30 expression, and rare Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positivity (CD20 , 4%). Forty-two cases were reclassified: nodular sclerosis (NS) cHL, n 5 27 (including n 5 10 NS grade 2); lymphocyte predominant HL, n 5 4; DLBCL, n 5 4; EBV 1 DLBCL, n 5 3;primary mediastinal large BCL n 5 2; lymphocyte-rich cHL and BCL-not otherwise specified, n 5 1 each. GZL consensus-confirmed vs reclassified cases, respectively, more often had mediastinal disease (69% vs 41%; P 5 .038) and less likely more than 1 extranodal site (0% vs 25%; P 5 .019). With a 44-month median follow-up, 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival for patients with confirmed GZL were 39% and 95%, respectively, vs 58% and 85%, respectively, for reclassified cases (P 5 .19 and P 5 .15, respectively).Interestingly, NS grade 2 reclassified patients had similar PFS as GZL consensus-confirmed cases. For prognostication of GZL cases, hypoalbuminemia was a negative factor (3-year PFS, 12% vs 64%; P 5 .01), whereas frontline cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone 6 rituximab (CHOP6R) was associated with improved 3-year PFS (70% vs 20%; P 5 .03); both factors remained significant on multivariate analysis. Altogether, accurate diagnosis of GZL remains challenging, and improved therapeutic strategies are needed.

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