Manfredini M, Mazzaglia G, Ciardo S, Farnetani F, Mandel V D, Longo C, Zauli S, Bettoli V, Virgili A, Pellacani G
Department of Dermatology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2015 May;29(5):933-9. doi: 10.1111/jdv.12730. Epub 2014 Sep 26.
Acne vulgaris is a common disease of the pilosebaceous unit, clinically showing alteration of the keratinization process leading to comedos formation and subsequent inflammatory process.
To characterize the morphology of acne lesions and pilosebaceous units by means of in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy, in order to non-invasively define the microscopic alterations occurring during the acne process.
A set of standardized clinical pictures and a set of reflectance confocal images were acquired from 25 volunteers, presenting mild-to-moderate acne, and 10 healthy volunteers, using Vivascope 3000, and 10 mosaics on apparently normal skin were acquired by 5 acne patients and 5 healthy volunteers by Vivascope 1500, and evaluated by experts.
Confocal microscopy enabled to identify morphological aspects characterizing different types of acne lesions. Apparently normal skin of acne patients, compared with healthy skin of patients with no history of acne, revealed peculiar confocal features, such as bright rings around hair follicle that may represent the early events in acne lesion formation.
The fast and reliable characterization of acne lesions and identification of subclinical alterations in acne-prone skin through confocal examination, corresponding to infundibular hyper-keratinization, may have important clinical consequences in the assessment of acne severity, therapeutic decisions and treatment efficacy monitoring.
寻常痤疮是一种常见的毛囊皮脂腺疾病，临床上表现为角质化过程改变，导致粉刺形成及随后的炎症过程。
通过活体反射共聚焦显微镜观察痤疮皮损和毛囊皮脂腺单位的形态，以无创性地明确痤疮发病过程中发生的微观改变。
使用Vivascope 3000从25例轻至中度痤疮志愿者和10例健康志愿者获取一组标准化临床图片和一组反射共聚焦图像，5例痤疮患者和5例健康志愿者使用Vivascope 1500在外观正常皮肤上获取10张拼接图像，并由专家进行评估。
共聚焦显微镜能够识别不同类型痤疮皮损的形态学特征。与无痤疮病史患者的健康皮肤相比，痤疮患者外观正常的皮肤显示出独特的共聚焦特征，如毛囊周围的亮环，这可能代表痤疮皮损形成的早期事件。
通过共聚焦检查对痤疮皮损进行快速可靠的特征描述，并识别易患痤疮皮肤的亚临床改变，这些改变与漏斗部过度角化相对应，可能在痤疮严重程度评估、治疗决策及治疗效果监测方面具有重要的临床意义。
