Although the evidence for an environmental influence on AGA remains very weak, we did find an association between hair loss severity and certain environmental factors, such as smoking and drinking. Family history with more severe hair loss and an earlier age of onset.

A meta-analysis from Woodruff and colleagues demonstrated that phototherapy has had a good track record in the treatment of wounds, both iatrogenic and traumatic. 1) This appeared to be particularly true for the 830 nm GaAlAs-based therapeutic laser. 2,3) Up until the late 1990's, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) had not achieved the same degree of acceptance as laser diode-based systems, because of low and unstable output powers, high angles of divergence with poor photon intensities and the lack of wavelength specificity: it was easy to source a red LED with a waveband from 600 to 680 nm or so, but almost impossible to find a 633 nm LED. Even the very much more expensive superluminescent LEDs (sLEDs) were significantly less effective in inducing neovascularization in a rat model compared with a laser diode at the same 830 nm wavelength and similar dose. Background and aims:The application of light-emitting diodes in a number of clinical fields is expanding rapidly since the development in the late 1990s of the NASA LED. Wound healing is one field where low level light therapy with LEDs (LED-LLLT) has attracted attention for both accelerating wound healing and controlling sequelae. The present study evaluated LED-LLLT in 5 wounds of various etiologies. Subjects and methods: There were 5 patients with ages ranging from 7 to 54 years, comprising 2 males and 3 females. The study followed 5 wounds, namely 2 acute excoriation wounds; 1 acute/subacute dog bite with infection; 1 subacute post-filler ulcerated wound with necrotic ischemic tissue and secondary infection; and 1 subacute case of edema and infection of the lips with herpes simplex involvement after an illegal cosmetic tattoo operation. All patients were in varying degrees of pain. All wounds were treated with multiple sessions (daily, every other day or twice weekly) using an LED-LLLT system (830 nm, CW, irradiance of 100 mW/cm² and fluence of 60 J/cm²) till improvement was achieved.Results: Full wound healing and control of infection and discomfort were achieved in all patients, with wound condition-mediated treatment periods ranging from 1 to 8 weeks. No recurrence of the herpes simplex case was seen in a 4-month follow-up. Conclusions: 830 nm LED-LLLT successfully brought about accelerated healing in wounds of different etiologies and at different stages, and successfully controlled secondary infection. LED-LLLT was easy and pain-free to apply, and was well-tolerated by all patients. The good results warrant the design of controlled studies with a larger patient population.

BackgroundTo meet the need for a subspecialized skin type system, the Baumann skin type (BST) system was proposed.ObjectiveTo evaluate the distribution of BST types and influencing factors among Korean women.MethodsBST questionnaires were administered to 1,000 Korean women. The possible responses were as follows: oily (O) or dry (D), sensitive (S) or resistant (R), pigmented (P) or non-pigmented (N), and wrinkled (W) or tight (T). The correlations of the BST with the subjects' age, location, ultraviolet (UV) ray exposure, drinking and smoking habits, and blood type were assessed.ResultsThe OSNT, DSNT, DRNT, and OSNW skin types were the most common skin types (55.3%). The O, S, P, and W types accounted for 46.6%, 68.8%, 23.2%, and 31.9%, respectively. The proportion of the O and S type was the highest in Gyeongsangbuk-do (55.0%) and Seoul (77.2%). The proportion of the P and W type was the highest in Gyeongsangbuk-do (33.0%) and Chungcheong-do (39.0%). The O type decreased in the higher age group, whereas the P and W type showed a reversed tendency. In smokers, the proportion of W type was significantly higher than in the non-smokers (66.3% vs. 24.1%, p<0.05).ConclusionThe 4 most common BST types were OSNT, DSNT, DRNT, and OSNW. In the comparison across the 4 BST parameters according to the age, region, smoking and drinking habits, occupation, blood type, and UV exposure, significant differences were observed. Individualized and customized skin care is required according to the personal skin type.

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