Cutaneous alternariosis in an immunocompromised dog successfully treated with cold plasma and cessation of immunosuppressive medication

Plasma Dermatology: Skin Therapy Using Cold Atmospheric Plasma

Cold atmospheric plasma-based plasma medicine has been expanding the diversity of its specialties. As an emerging branch, plasma dermatology takes advantage of the beneficial complexity of plasma constituents (e.g., reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, UV photons, and electromagnetic emission), technical versatility (e.g., direct irradiation and indirect aqueous treatment), and practical feasibility (e.g., hand-held compact device and clinician-friendly operation). The objective of this comprehensive review is to summarize recent advances in the CAP-dominated skin therapy by broadly covering three aspects. We start with plasma optimisation of intact skin, detailing the effect of CAP on skin lipids, cells, histology, and blood circulation. We then conduct a clinically oriented and thorough dissection of CAP treatment of various skin diseases, focusing on the wound healing, inflammatory disorders, infectious conditions, parasitic infestations, cutaneous malignancies, and alopecia. Finally, we conclude with a brief analysis on the safety aspect of CAP treatment and a proposal on how to mitigate the potential risks. This comprehensive review endeavors to serve as a mini textbook for clinical dermatologists and a practical manual for plasma biotechnologists. Our collective goal is to consolidate plasma dermatology’s lead in modern personalized medicine.

Gas Plasma-Augmented Wound Healing in Animal Models and Veterinary Medicine

The loss of skin integrity is inevitable in life. Wound healing is a necessary sequence of events to reconstitute the body’s integrity against potentially harmful environmental agents and restore homeostasis. Attempts to improve cutaneous wound healing are therefore as old as humanity itself. Furthermore, nowadays, targeting defective wound healing is of utmost importance in an aging society with underlying diseases such as diabetes and vascular insufficiencies being on the rise. Because chronic wounds’ etiology and specific traits differ, there is widespread polypragmasia in targeting non-healing conditions. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) are an overarching theme accompanying wound healing and its biological stages. ROS are signaling agents generated by phagocytes to inactivate pathogens. Although ROS/RNS’s central role in the biology of wound healing has long been appreciated, it was only until the recent decade that these agents were explicitly used to target defective wound healing using gas plasma technology. Gas plasma is a physical state of matter and is a partially ionized gas operated at body temperature which generates a plethora of ROS/RNS simultaneously in a spatiotemporally controlled manner. Animal models of wound healing have been vital in driving the development of these wound healing-promoting technologies, and this review summarizes the current knowledge and identifies open ends derived from in vivo wound models under gas plasma therapy. While gas plasma-assisted wound healing in humans has become well established in Europe, veterinary medicine is an emerging field with great potential to improve the lives of suffering animals.