title: Ulcerative necrobiosis lipoidica successfully treated with photodynamic therapy: case report and literature review.
abstract: Ulcerative necrobiosis lipoidica (NL) is a rare skin condition refractory to conventional therapies. We treated a forty-four year old woman affected by widespread ulcerative NL with 6 sessions of topical ALA-PDT at two weeks intervals. At the end of the treatment a dramatic improvement of the clinical features was observed, with complete healing of cutaneous ulcers and marked reduction of erythema in all the treated areas. The mechanism of action of PDT in ulcer healing is still unknown; however, it is possible to hypothesize a combination of anti-inflammatory effect, immunomodulatory activity and keratinocytes photoactivation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Dermatology, University of Messina, Italy. Electronic address: fborgia@unime.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Borgia
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Dermatology, University of Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vaccaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Dermatology, University of Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Cantavenera
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Dermatology, University of Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aragona
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Dermatology, University of Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Serafinella P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Cannavò
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007871:Leg Ulcer / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D009335:Necrobiosis Lipoidica / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid
keywords: Matrix metalloproteinases; Necrobiosis lipoidica; Photodynamic therapy; Ulceration