Translate this page into:
Cosmetic photodynamic therapy
This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
This article was originally published by Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd and was migrated to Scientific Scholar after the change of Publisher.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is emerging as an important therapeutic measure in the management of several skin diseases as well as in cosmetic procedures. It is a valuable addition in the armamentarium of therapeutics and cosmetic interventions. This book provides a comprehensive coverage of PDT in dermatology with details of its indications, methodology and current status of efficacy.
There is a detailed description of the historical aspect of evolution of this therapy. The book explains the utility of various PDT preparations and light sources, methods for improving the penetration of dye and efficacy of therapy, such as micro-needling and laser resurfacing. The pre-treatment preparation including the need and mode of eye protection and a detailed explanation of postoperative care are included. The methodology is well described with a clear explanation of each step. One of the authors has also described his own protocol of PDT and given many useful tips to reduce the adverse effects learnt from his experience.
The approved and well known indications of PDT like actinic keratosis and photo-rejuvenation are described in detail covering all the possible aspects, however, the authors could have also mentioned some details of miscellaneous indications like fungal infections, atypical mycobacterial infections, facial warts, lupus miliaris disseminates faciei scars, port-wine stain, lichen sclerosus, porokeratosis, folliculitis decalvans and erosive pustular dermatosis of scalpel, etc, where PDT has been used, though less often. Chemoprevention with PDT in non-melanomatous skin cancer, an important chemoprevention intervention, as well as use of PDT in inflammatory acne are also described in detail. The authors have included a majority of the important case studies, also published in the literature including the recent studies mentioning the efficacy of daylight PDT, demonstrating the efficacy of PDT in all the common indications. The summary as well as results of these studies are well illustrated in the text as well as in the tables. A systematic review regarding the efficacy of methyl-aminolevulinic acid has also been included.
Many good clinical photographs and flowcharts are there to explain the exact mechanisms of the action and to show the treatment responses, making the book reader-friendly. But there is repetition of text and sentences at many places, which could have been avoided making the book more concise and focused. Also, at some places (eg., page 70), the language is unclear and not explicit.
The print quality of the book is good. Overall, this book provides a good practical as well as theoretical account of photodynamic therapy in dermatology which will be useful to dermatologists, post-graduate students of dermatology and clinicians using photodynamic therapy in their clinical practice.
