title: In vivo multiphoton imaging of human skin: assessment of topical corticosteroid-induced epidermis atrophy and depigmentation.
abstract: Multiphoton microscopy has emerged in the past decade as a promising tool for noninvasive skin imaging. Our aim was to evaluate the potential of multiphoton microscopy to detect topical corticosteroids side effects within the epidermis and to provide new insights into their dynamics. Healthy volunteers were topically treated with clobetasol propionate on a small region of their forearms under overnight occlusion for three weeks. The treated region of each patient was investigated at D0, D7, D15, D22 (end of the treatment), and D60. Our study shows that multiphoton microscopy allows for the detection of corticoid-induced epidermis modifications: thinning of stratum corneum compactum and epidermis, decrease of keratinocytes size, and changes in their morphology from D7 to D22. We also show that multiphoton microscopy enables in vivo three-dimensional (3-D) quantitative assessment of melanin content. We observe that melanin density decreases during treatment and almost completely disappears at D22. Moreover, these alterations are reversible as they are no longer present at D60. Our study demonstrates that multiphoton microscopy is a convenient and powerful tool for noninvasive 3-D dynamical studies of skin integrity and pigmentation.
authors.affiliation: L'Oréal Research and Innovation, Aulnay sous Bois, France.
authors.forename: Hassan Ait
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: El Madani
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tancrède-Bohin
authors.forename: Armand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bensussan
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colonna
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dupuy
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bagot
authors.forename: Ana-Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pena
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000328:Adult; D001284:Atrophy / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D004817:Epidermis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D036641:Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton / Q000379:methods*; D010859:Pigmentation Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones