Time-resolved autofluores- cence methodology for non-invasive skin cancer diagnostics(1.1.1.2/VIAA/1/16/014)
Development and clinical validation of a novel cost effective multi-modal methodology
for early d...(1.1.1.2/VIAA/1/16/052)
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a rare multisystemic autosomal recessive connective
tissue disease. In most cases, skin manifestations of PXE are the first to develop,
followed later by severe ocular and cardiovascular complications. In our present study,
in addition to dermoscopy, we introduced novel techniques, autofluorescence (AF) and
diffuse reflectance (DR) imaging for the assessment of affected skin sites of five
PXE patients. PXE-affected skin areas in most skin sites showed a previously observed
pattern upon dermoscopic examination. With the novel imaging, PXE-affected skin lesions
displayed high AF intensity. During our measurements, significantly higher mean, minimum
and maximum AF intensity values were found in areas of PXE-affected skin when compared
to uninvolved skin. Conversely, images acquired with the use of 660 and 940 nm illumination
showed no mentionable difference. Our results demonstrate that AF imaging may be used
in the in vivo diagnostics and quantification of the severity of the skin lesions
of PXE patients. In addition, it is a safe, fast and cost-effective diagnostic method.
AF imaging may be also used to objectively monitor the efficacy of the possible novel
therapeutic approaches of PXE in the future.
