Application and Comparison of Dermoscopy and Reflectance Confocal Microscopy in the Target Treatment of Genital Lichen Sclerosus: A Single-Arm Prospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: The treatment of genital lichen sclerosus (GLS) remains challenging. Baricitinib has been introduced in the treatment of GLS, but there's no imaging evaluation for GLS patients treated with it. No comparison of dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) assessments in GLS has been conducted. We performed this study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of baricitinib for GLS and to compare the value of dermoscopy and RCM assessments in GLS. METHODS: Participants were treated with baricitinib for 6 months and assessed at week 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and every 4 weeks for the next 16 weeks. All patients were evaluated for clinical, dermoscopic, and RCM variables, with numeric scores assigned to each parameter. RESULTS: Twenty-six GLS patients were included in this study. All patients achieved Investigator's Global Assessment score ≤ 1 (with ≥ 2-grade improvement) at week 20. The scores of pruritus and pain decreased since week 2 (both P < 0.05). The DLQI and VQLI scores significantly decreased since week 4 (both P < 0.0001). White structureless areas improved at week 2 and white shiny streaks and follicular plugs improved at week 4 under dermoscopic examination. Vessels (P < 0.001) and brown structureless areas (P = 0.003) increased at week 8. In RCM, inflammatory cells count significantly decreased at week 2 (100.03 ± 33.24, P < 0.0001), with substantial regression at week 8 (16.98 ± 5.54, P < 0.0001). Epidermal thickness increased at week 12 (157.44 ± 37.87 µm versus 134.13 ± 36.60 µm, P = 0.0284). Irregular papillae, spongiosis, and fiber structures improved at week 20, week 4, and week 6 (all P < 0.01). Transient hypercholesterolemia (11.54%), thrombocytosis (7.69%), and elevated alanine aminotransferase (7.69%) occurred during treatment. CONCLUSION: Both dermoscopy and RCM can be useful and non-invasive adjuvant tools for the evaluation and therapeutic monitoring of GLS. We recommended white structureless areas under dermoscopy and inflammatory cells count under RCM as variables for dermatologic imaging evaluation for GLS. Baricitinib is effective and safe for GLS, while randomized controlled trials are warranted.

Multivalent Supramolecular Self-Assembly between ß-Cyclodextrin Derivatives and Polyoxometalate for Photodegradation of Dyes and Antibiotics.

An organic-inorganic hybrid supramolecular self-assembly was successfully constructed by multivalent interaction of ethylenediamine-ß-cyclodextrin and polyoxometalate in water, which was comprehensively characterized by UV-vis, NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectra, and zeta potential. Interestingly, the resultant nanoparticles exhibited highly efficient catalytic ability for the photodegradation of organic dyes rhodamine B, xylenol orange, methyl orange, methylene blue, and crystal violet, and antibiotics nitrofurazone, tetracyclines, and berberine in the presence of H2O2 under the irradiation of mercury lamp or sunlight, which provides ideas for the treatment of organic pollutants.

Supramolecular Assemblies with Near-Infrared Emission Mediated in Two Stages by Cucurbituril and Amphiphilic Calixarene for Lysosome-Targeted Cell Imaging.

A two-stage mediated near-infrared (NIR) emissive supramolecular assembly for lysosome-targeted cell imaging is presented. 4,4'-Anthracene-9,10-diylbis(ethene-2,1-diyl))bis(1-ethylpyridin-1-ium) bromide (ENDT) was synthesized as an organic dye with weak fluorescence emission at 625 nm. When ENDT complexes with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), this binary supramolecular complex assembles into nanorods with a near-infrared fluorescence emission (655 nm) and fluorescence enhancement as the first stage. Such supramolecular complexes interact with lower-rim dodecyl-modified sulfonatocalix[4]arene (SC4AD) to form nanoparticles for further fluorescence enhancement as the second stage. Furthermore, based on a co-staining experiment with LysoTracker Blue, such nanoparticles can be applied in NIR lysosome-targeted cell imaging.

Sulfonato-ß-Cyclodextrin Mediated Supramolecular Nanoparticle for Controlled Release of Berberine.

A kind of supramolecular assemblies was constructed from two water-soluble and biocompatible saccharides, sulfonato-ß-cyclodextrin (SCD) and chitosan, and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-vis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that such nanoparticles presented good stability and controlled loading/release property, which enabled them as good drug carrier for berberine chloride (BE), a representative drug from traditional Chinese herbs. That is, the nanoparticles can load BE with high stability in a low-pH environment like that of the stomach but released BE when moved to a high-pH environment like that of the intestine.