The therapeutic role of lasers in primary localized cutaneous amyloidosis: a systematic review

• Published in: Lasers in medical science Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 799 - 813
• Main Authors: Ahramiyanpour, Najmeh, Akbari, Zahra, Sarasyabi, Mohammad Sharifi, Aflatoonian, Mahin, Saki, Nasrin, Shafie’ei, Mohammad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer London 01.03.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aluminum; Amyloidosis; Amyloidosis, Familial; Carbon dioxide; Case reports; Dentistry; Erbium; Fiber lasers; Humans; Laser Therapy - methods; Lasers; Lasers, Solid-State - therapeutic use; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neodymium; Optical Devices; Optics; Photonics; Quality assessment; Quantum Optics; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Review Article; Side effects; Skin Diseases, Genetic; Therapy; Yttrium; Yttrium-aluminum garnet; Macular amyloidosis; Nodular amyloidosis; Laser therapy; Laser; Lichen amyloidosis; Cutaneous amyloidosis
• DOI: 10.1007/s10103-021-03429-4
• ISSN: 0268-8921

With the investigation of the efficacy of laser therapy in primary localized amyloidosis(PLCA) only recently starting to materialize, we aimed to review the currently available studies of laser therapy in the management of the disease. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ProQuest online databases with a specified search strategy, assessed the quality of each study, and then extracted the eligible data. Five RCTs(randomized controlled trials), one non-randomized controlled trial, three case series, and nine case reports(18 in total) were included. Overall, carbon dioxide (CO2), neodymium-doped:yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG), pulsed dye (PDL), Er (Erbium):YAG, and yttrium/erbium fiber were the studied lasers. One hundred fifty-five cases in total underwent laser therapy, with CO2 being the most frequent laser. Almost all studies demonstrated significantly desirable outcomes, while only mild and transient side effects were noted. Even though the studies’ results were significant, we noticed that implementing a consistent methodology and a standardized objective assessment method was missing. Therefore, we recommend that future studies be conducted with less heterogeneous data for a more definite conclusion.