Effects of UV-, Visible-, Near-Infrared Beams in Three Therapy Resistance Case Studies of Fungal Skin infections

Rozhin Penjweini, Soheila Mokmeli, Klaus Becker, Hans-Ulrich Dodt, Saiedeh Saghafi

1Department of Bioelectronics, Institute of Solid State Electronics, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria 2Biophotonics Laboratory, Plasma-Physics Research Centre, Research Science Campus (IAU), Tehran, Iran.
1Department of Bioelectronics, Institute of Solid State Electronics, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria 2Biophotonics Laboratory, Plasma-Physics Research Centre, Research Science Campus (IAU), Tehran, Iran 3Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Section Bioelectronics, Vienna, Austria.
1Department of Bioelectronics, Institute of Solid State Electronics, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria 2Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Section Bioelectronics, Vienna, Austria.
Iranian Medical Laser Associations, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/opj.2013.37A001                

Abstract

Fungal and bacterial diseases, directly infecting various parts of body, have received much attention in recent years. Bacterial infections, such as Tinea Pedis, Pityriasis versicolor and Mycetoma can secondarily occur in superficial fungal damaged skin. They often occur in immune compromised individuals including diabetics and patients with peripheral arterial diseases. Mycetoma infections can travel through the bloodstream affecting different organs. In this paper, we investigate the photo-inactivation of the pathogens causing Tinea Pedis, Pityriasis versicolor, and Mycetoma infections in three therapy resistant patients without photosensitizing drugs. We have used a combination of visible to near-infrared (VIS/NIR) laser beams in association with blue (B), red (R) and ultra-violet (UV) light emitted diodes (LEDs) with incident doses of 0.63 - 21.43 J/cm². These beams have minimum side effects on the normal part of the skin. According to the physicians’ assessments, all case study patients achieved an observable progress such as decreases in inflammatory lesions, rapid process of wound healing and scars improvements. Side effects such as inflammation, crusting, or hypopigmentation were not observed. The presented irradiation protocol may be a valuable complementary treatment for patients suffering from fungal and bacterial skin infections.

Keywords

Fungal and Bacterial Infections; Coherent and Semi-Coherent Beams; Absorption Percentage

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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