Zhiyu Liu

Bio: Zhiyu Liu is an academic researcher from Tongji University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Randomized controlled trial & Adverse effect. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 32 citations.

Needle-free injection of 5-aminolevulinic acid in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of condylomata acuminata.

Abstract: The external application of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in photodynamic therapy (PDT) results in a shallow penetration depth in thick or extensive condylomata acuminata (CA) lesions, thus demonstrating a poor therapeutic effect for those patients. To compare the efficacy of needle-free injection with external application of ALA in PDT for the treatment of CA, 160 CA patients with thick or extensive warts received ALA-PDT by means of external application or needle-free injection of ALA, respectively. The complete response (CR) rate and recurrence rate in the two groups were analyzed. The CR rate after the first treatment in the needle-free injection group (68.8%) was significantly higher compared with that in the external application group (52.5%; P=0.035). The recurrence rates in the needle-free injection group and external application group were 4.1 and 15.4%, respectively (P=0.022). The needle-free injection of ALA increases the therapeutic effect of PDT for CA patients with thick or extensive lesions. It shortens the treatment time and reduces the recurrence rate, and has great potential in the treatment of CA.

Needle‐free injection of 5‐aminolevulinic acid in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of non‐melanoma skin cancer

Abstract: Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been widely used in treatment for skin cancer. However, topical 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in PDT demonstrates poor therapeutic effect due to its shallow penetration. And intralesional ALA-PDT can bring great pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of PDT with needle-free injection of ALA in the treatment of nonmalignant skin tumors. Methods 54 non-melanocytic malignant lesions of 54 subjects were treated with needle-free injection of 20% 5-ALA under occlusion for 1.5 hours, and irradiated with light dose of 100 J/cm2 at 100 mW for 20 minutes. Evaluation of treatment efficacy was conducted at 2 week after treatment. Results 44 cases showed complete response with six cycles of PDT, three cases with seven cycles, and three cases with nine cycles. The remaining four cases failed to show complete response even with nine cycle of PDT. No case was reported to have recurrence in 6 months posttreatment. Only four cases experienced disease recurrence in 1 year posttreatment. Conclusions The treatment with PDT using needle-free injection of 5-ALA appears to be effective and well tolerated with milder therapeutic pain and low recurrence rate. It can be proposed as an effective treatment alternative for non-melanoma skin cancer.

Incontinentia Pigmenti: Case Report

Abstract: Incontinentia pigmenti or Bloch-Sulzberger syndrome is a rare X-linked dominant disorder with characteristic skin, hair, eye, dental and neurologic abnormalities mostly affecting females. We report a case of a female newborn exhibiting characteristic cutaneous and neurologic findings with one-year follow-up.

Efficacy and safety of two hyaluronic acid fillers with different injection depths for the correction of moderate‐to‐severe nasolabial folds: A 52‐week, prospective, randomized, double‐blinded study in a Chinese population

Abstract: Hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers are known to be effective for the correction of facial wrinkles and folds, but there is no clinical study that compares the efficacy of small‐to‐medium‐particle HA fillers and large‐particle HA fillers for the correction of nasolabial folds (NLFs). Moreover, injection depth also plays an important role in the correction of NLFs as well as improvement of facial aesthetics.

Trends and targets in antiviral phototherapy

Abstract: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a well-established treatment option in the treatment of certain cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions. Though best-known for its application in tumor therapy, historically the photodynamic effect was first demonstrated against bacteria at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, in light of spreading antibiotic resistance and the rise of new infections, this photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, is gaining considerable attention. This review focuses on the PDI of viruses as an alternative treatment in antiviral therapy, but also as a means of viral decontamination, covering mainly the literature of the last decade. The PDI of viruses shares the general action mechanism of photodynamic applications: the irradiation of a dye with light and the subsequent generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are the effective phototoxic agents damaging virus targets by reacting with viral nucleic acids, lipids and proteins. Interestingly, a light-independent antiviral activity has also been found for some of these dyes. This review covers the compound classes employed in the PDI of viruses and their various areas of use. In the medical area, currently two fields stand out in which the PDI of viruses has found broader application: the purification of blood products and the treatment of human papilloma virus manifestations. However, the PDI of viruses has also found interest in such diverse areas as water and surface decontamination, and biosafety.

Photodynamic Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Abstract: PACT therapy involves the use of a chemical dye which targets the organism cell wall, in this case the fungus. The dye is activated by a high powered lamp which starts a chemical reaction, and the release of oxygen into the affected nail plate. This sudden and prolonged release of oxygen helps to destroy the cell wall of the fungus and over the course of your treatment helps to eradicate it from your nail plate.

Systematic review of central nervous system anomalies in incontinentia pigmenti

Abstract: The objective of this study was to present a systematic review of the central nervous system (CNS) types of anomalies and to consider the possibility to include CNS anomalies in Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) criteria. The analyzed literature data from 1,393 IP cases were from the period 1993–2012. CNS anomalies were diagnosed for 30.44% of the investigated IP patients. The total number of CNS types of anomalies per patient was 1.62. In the present study there was no significantly higher number of anomalies per patient in females than males. The most frequent CNS types of anomalies were seizures, motor impairment, mental retardation, and microcephaly. The most frequently registered CNS lesions found using brain imaging methods were brain infarcts or necrosis, brain atrophies, and corpus callosum lesions. IKBKG exon 4–10 deletion was present in 86.00% of genetically confirmed IP patients. The frequency of CNS anomalies, similar to the frequency of retinal anomalies in IP patients, concurrent with their severity, supports their recognition in the list of IP minor criteria.

Strategies for optimizing the delivery to tumors of macrocyclic photosensitizers used in photodynamic therapy (PDT)

Abstract: This review briefly summaries the principles and mechanisms of action of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as concerns its application in the oncological field, highlighting its drawbacks and some of the strategies that have been or are being explored to overcome them. The major aim is to increase the efficiency and selectivity of the photosensitizer (PS) uptake in the cancer cells for optimizing the PDT effects on tumors while sparing normal cells. Some attempts to achieve this are based on the conjugation of the PS to biomolecules (small ligands, peptides) functioning as carriers with the ability to efficiently penetrate cells and/or specifically recognize and bind proteins/receptors overexpressed on the surface of cancer cells. Alternatively, the PS can be entrapped in nanocarriers derived from various types of materials that can target the tumor by exploiting the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effects. The use of nanocarriers is particularly attractive because it allows the simultaneous delivery of more than one drug with the possibility of combining PDT with other therapeutic modalities.

Drug Delivery Systems for Phthalocyanines for Photodynamic Therapy.

Abstract: The focus of this review is to describe the state-of-art in the development of innovative drug delivery systems for phthalocyanines as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT is a medical treatment combining photosensitizers (PSs) activated by visible light of a specific wavelength to selectively destroy targeted cells, tumor tissues and its surrounding vasculature. In the last decades, PDT has been under intense investigation, first as a promising alternative approach for improved cancer treatment, later against microbial infection and nowadays, mainly in aesthetic medicine, against age-related degeneration. The success of PDT is restricted because of difficulties with administration and skin permeation of PSs. As PDT importance raises, there is high interest for advanced formulations and delivery systems (DDS) for PS, especially formulations based on nanotechnology. Accordingly, this review deals with the innovations pertaining to DDS for PDT as disclosed in recent patents and literature.