Photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is increasingly popular,^ and has been used to cure LS.

PDT is a sub-type of phototherapy that uses a gel that, when activated by light, kills cells (by generating highly reactive singlet oxygen).^ PDT is anti-infectant against bacteria,^ fungi and viruses.^

PDT decreases inflammation,^ increases microvessels, and can restore skin elasticity by increasing the production of collagen, "thus facilitating dermal remodeling, and increasing epidermal thickness and collagen density."^ "Some lesions with depigmentation showed repigmentation at 6 months."^

Studies

Main article: Photodynamic therapy studies

Studies have found:

1. PDT causes LS lesions to disappear partially or completely in around 90% of patients.
2. PDT is far more effective than clob.^
   1. PDT halts atrophy,^ but "it cannot restore atrophied structures, such as the labia minora."^
   2. Lesions disappeared completely in 35% of Clob patients, and in 70% of PDT patients.
3. For the minority of patients whose symptoms return, they can do more sessions as needed.^

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Methods

A 2020 meta review of PDT methods for vulvar LS proposes this standardized protocol:

1. Photosensitizer gel:

   5% 5-ALA - (5-aminolevulinic acid)

2. Incubation period:

   3 hrs - (skin covered with plastic film after application of gel^)

3. Light:
   1. Red light: 630 nm - (nanometers: the wavelength of light)
   2. Light intensity: 204 mW/cm2 - (milliwatts per square centimeter)
   3. Light dose: 120 J/cm2 - (joules per square centimeter)

More details: see Photodynamic therapy methods. █████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████

Latest research

PubMed searches:

1. photodynamic + Lichen Sclerosus